Safe
by NoelleWynters
Summary: Alice knew they couldn't win, even all three of them together could not take down Jafar and the Red Queen. They could not win, but she did have her wits and her wishes. She said she'd never use them, but was certain he wouldn't mind if it meant getting him safely away from Wonderland. She could only hope he'd land somewhere safe, and she would find him again.
1. A Simple Wish

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Alice knew he was strong and could hold his own, she knew that. She also knew he would not be insulted if she used one of her wishes for his well being. Of course she couldn't wish him free from the bonds of the bottle, but she could wish him out of Wonderland and hopefully this time he'd land somewhere Jafar could not find him, or with someone who could help protect him if the sorcerer did locate him again.

"You're thinking of something stupid, I can tell," she heard Will whisper on her right. She really didn't consider it a stupid plan, maybe not the smartest but she also knew they couldn't take on Jafar and the Red Queen. Even if they had Cyrus with them, they couldn't win.

She turned to him and grinned. "I wouldn't call it stupid, just the only option we have. They can't use him without the wishes being used up, and once Jafar has him out of that hideous silver cage I can wish him somewhere away from here and safe," she explained, to which Will rolled his eyes.

"Bloody hell girl, and what are we supposed to do once he's safely in his bottle and away from here? Just ask them if they'd like a spot of tea while we try to come to some level of reason?" he blurted out in a hushed tone.

Alice dug into her satchel and pulled out a few pieces of mushroom. "Once he's gone, we eat this and shrink down small enough so we can get away. I'm sure they'll both be so angry they won't think to look for two people the size of specks running off. We've gotten the rabbit his family, and we know the Red Queen has the bottle with her, all we need is for Jafar to bring Cyrus out of that cage."

Will glanced down to the dank room, if it could be called a room, in which Jafar kept the hanging cages. He couldn't figure out the point to all this, sure a genie could perform some amazing feats of magic but it was limited. What was his plan? He knew one thing, they did need to get Cyrus out of there, and the sooner the better. The genie was looking rather worn out, and he fancied it had something to do with the silver that kept him inside the cage.

"Right, because they're going to take him out for some fresh air. Honestly Alice, I don't know how..." he began to say right when Jafar waved his hand and the cage came down to his level.

Neither could hear what was being said, but Will was fairly certain he could feel Alice's smile of triumph when Jafar opened the cage and pulled Cyrus out. A breathless 'bloody hell' escaped his lips as he heard Alice whispering beside him.

He could hardly make out her words, but he could tell she was wishing him as far away from Wonderland as was possible. At first he thought maybe the wish wasn't working until he saw a strange orange mist begin to envelope the genie, and then heard the high pitched shriek from the Red Queen as the bottle vanished from her tiny hands. Jafar lunged for Cyrus but it did him no good; the genie was back in his bottle and gone.

"Bottoms up!" Will joked as he ate the offered piece of mushroom, both of them making their way as far from Jafar's fortress as they could. Before they made it to the outside air, he turned to Alice and asked her where they were going to go now.

She only grinned and said she'd like to see this land he talked about with care bears. Will could only shake his head and agreed it might be safer for them in Storybrooke than Wonderland. He only wished they knew where Cyrus was going to land, but so long as he was safe that was all that really mattered right now.


	2. Arrivals & Departures

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Cyrus groaned as his bottle finally came to rest, where he knew not. He had to admit, this was one of the downsides of being a genie. Well, that and the fact he was forever at the beck and call of his master. Which actually had him slightly confused at the moment, as Alice had only used one wish therefore she was still his mistress which made him being found by anyone else pretty much pointless.

He didn't exactly want to stay trapped in his bottle until Alice would hopefully locate him again, but he knew there wasn't much choice in the matter. Of course, someone could find his bottle and release him only to be angered to realize he actually was of no use to them. He had never actually found himself in that sort of situation, and wasn't exactly clear how it would work. No one had ever held off using their wishes before, not before Alice.

* * *

The air was wonderfully brisk and refreshing and the leaves were all in shades of scarlet and gold, much to Belle's delight as she headed off the paved path into the woods surrounding Storybrooke. As much as she loved the small town, she felt a need to get away from everyone sometimes. The Charmings had a tendency to get on her nerves. They were always spouting off about loyalty and the likes, but it seemed to her theirs could be swayed quite easily. So long as you stayed in their good books they were your friend until the end or at least that was how she perceived them.

She knew part of the issue was her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin, even if he had helped them at times, in return for a favour of course. Everyone thought he was the embodiment of evil but she knew despite his flaws he had a good heart, just no one else would believe in him. Belle had faith he would eventually come around and begin to see the good in himself, no matter the mistakes he'd made in his past, and that magic wasn't the only strength he had. At times she wished he could see that magic wasn't the only answer, but she knew he had leaned on it for so long that it would take a lot for him to conclude that he didn't need it the way he thought he did. He always said magic came with a price, just he never realized the cost it had on him.

Her musings were interrupted when she felt the tip of her shoe bump against something metal. She glanced down to find a brass bottle with an interesting design abandoned on the ground. Slowly she knelt down to pick it up, turning it about in her hands pondering what it could possibly be.

Belle was about to pull the top off when her cell phone began to ring. She jumped slightly, forgetting she'd even brought it with her. Quickly she fished it out of her oversized purse to find it was Rumpel calling, obviously to remind her they were getting together at his place for lunch.

She answered his call, whilst putting the ornate bottle in her purse as she walked back to town. She was actually a little excited to show him her new discovery.

* * *

There were voices; he could distinctly hear them outside his bottle and one of them sounded rather angry. 'How wonderful, I've gone from one bad situation to another,' Cyrus mused whilst pacing about. Ever since meeting Alice and having the freedom to move around the outside world at will he was beginning to find his bottle a little more confining than usual. He wished someone would just uncork it and let him out.

It was almost as if someone had heard his silent wish, for not a second later he felt the familiar pull when the cork was removed and a moment later materialized in a cluttered room of various items.

"Master mine, my will is thine," he said, bowing his head slightly as he always did. A gasp sounded before him and he raised his eyes to see a man and a woman looking at him. The woman was holding his bottle and he realized she was actually the one to command him to their will. The man was looking at him with a bit of distaste in his eyes, and it only took Cyrus a few moments to realize who he was looking at. This certainly wasn't the best situation to be in, he was convinced of that.

"Well, now you've done it. I told you not to take the stopper out of that bloody bottle," the man grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and leveling the genie with a dark glare.

He'd never been to the Enchanted Forest but he'd heard tales of a man called The Dark One, and he knew dark magic when he saw it. At that moment he was fairly convinced he'd gone from one bad situation to another. The only plus this time was he could likely either talk or fight his way out of this one.

The woman on the other hand, he could tell she was a good person who saw the good in everyone she met. That likely explained why she was with the Dark One, Cyrus knew there was always good in everyone, the trouble was they either did not have someone to believe in them or they just did not want to acknowledge it and took the darker path for it tends to be easier. Something about her put him in mind of Alice, her eyes were brimming with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge of all things around her.

"You should have left that cursed bottle where you found it, I already had something similar in my shop that I can't get rid of. I didn't need a second," the man mumbled as the woman gave him a slap on the arm.

"Would you stop Rumpel, what is the big deal?" she asked, glancing over at the young man standing before them.

Cyrus was about to answer her, when the man he now knew was named Rumpelstiltskin jumped in. "You've uncorked a bloody genie, that's the deal. I do find it ironic that you Belle, of all the people in Storybrooke, would be the one to have a genie at your service."

Belle's eyes went wide at the implication. "I'm not against magic; I just don't think it should be used as a crutch! You seem to think you're nothing without it, same as Regina and it isn't true. This is a completely different type of magic from the type you use," she argued.

Rumpel cocked an eyebrow, his gaze shifting towards the newcomer which only served to make Cyrus slightly uneasy. "I'm sure his magic comes with a price as well, other than the obvious one: he spends his entire existence as a slave to the will of any master he finds himself in the service of," the man stated in a rather matter of fact tone.

That was a bit of information he couldn't argue with, but he would rather let it be known sooner than later that he actually was not in Belle's service yet. Not until Alice used her last two wishes and he had no idea if she ever would. The fact she'd used one still surprised him as she had sworn she never would, although under the circumstances he was glad she had chosen to do so.

Before Belle could say anything, and he could tell she was about to after the little speech from Rumpel, he cut in. "It is true all magic comes with a string attached. I cannot kill anyone, change the past, bring someone back to life or make someone fall in love. As well, I cannot grant any wishes at this time regardless of who has found my bottle and released me," he told them, not failing to miss the annoyed look in Rumpel's eyes.

"Care to tell us why, dearie? If that be the case it might be more beneficial to Belle to leave you inside the bottle than out if you are of no use," he questioned, his tone slightly sarcastic.

Belle glared at him for a moment, before turning her gaze to the newcomer. "I'm sorry about him, he can be a little cranky," she apologized, smiling softly.

Cyrus couldn't help but smile back at her, she was the type of personality that could put anyone at ease. "No need, I can understand his frustrations. You see, my will is tied to that of a young woman named Alice, in Wonderland at the moment. Unless she makes her last two wishes I cannot grant a wish for anyone else no matter who holds my bottle in their possession."

Belle nodded, it seemed like a good enough explanation to her. But for Rumpel it was not even close. He was always wary of a magic that was not his own and a genie just appearing outside of Storybrooke made him uneasy. It didn't make any sense, why would someone in possession of a genie wish it away? "So dearie, care to explain exactly why your mistress wished you to a completely different realm? Most people in possession of anything magically normally want to keep it close."

"For my safety, I assume," Cyrus answered, not elaborating. He actually did not know what Alice had wished for, one moment he'd been looking into Jafar's cold eyes, the next he was inside his bottle.

Rumpel was about to say something else when Belle interrupted. "This is all wonderful, but I'm starving. I thought you were making lunch, I really want to have something to eat," she commented, looking to him imploringly.

The harshness in his face melted away, and he smiled warmly at her. "Yes, I have something waiting in the kitchen. I'm afraid I was not expecting a third so there isn't a lot."

Right then a bell chimed and before either could say anything Cyrus vanished in a puff of smoke, which gave Rumpel the sinking suspicion the genie was hiding from someone. As it cleared they found Emma standing there, coughing. "What the heck, you trying to teach Belle some sort of trick?" she asked.

Rumpel smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know Miss Swan? What do I owe the pleasure of this visit to?"

"Nothing really, Henry was talking about having Thanksgiving and wanted to invite you and Belle. I guess as a thank you for not killing Mary Margaret and I after all when we were trying to get back from the Enchanted Forest. Seeing as I was out I thought I'd stop by and invite you both in person," she told them, while looking around to see where the smoke could have come from.

Belle really hated how suspicious that family seemed to be over every little thing. She did have to admit the smoke was a bit out of the ordinary, but living in a town of cursed fairy tale people should have made her somewhat accepting of the unexplainable. "We'd love to come. Is it alright if I bring a friend?" she asked, earning her a side long glare from Rumpel.

"Uh, sure. I didn't know you two had friends," Emma commented, afterwards wincing when she realized how rude that was.

"Well dearie, it isn't as if we feel the need to let the entire town know of our comings, goings and troubles, as some feel the need to. Please let Henry know to have room for one more in our party. Now, if that is all we were about to sit down to lunch," he informed her, letting her know in no uncertain terms by his tone of voice that she was dismissed.

Emma nodded and made her way out, turning as her hand touched the handle of the door. "That's a really pretty bottle you have Belle. Where did you find it?"

"Oh, I found it outside of town while I was admiring the autumn colours," she answered. Emma simply nodded and made her way out of the shop.

"Someone should let her know curiosity killed the cat. And what gave you the idea to ask to invite a third to this dinner of thanks? We should give thanks after it is over that we survive, listening to that insipid chatter for the evening."

Belle shrugged. "It seemed rude if this is a big dinner to leave the genie out. He is new in town. I wonder if he has a name," she pondered, pulling the stopper out of the bottle again.

A second later Cyrus materialized again before them. "Mistress mine, my will is thine."

"Now that is going to get old fast, can't we wish you not to say that every time she lets you out to play?" Rumpel grumbled.

Cyrus smiled. "I'll make note not to say it again, I am terribly sorry, it is part of what I do."

"That's okay. I actually had a question for you," Belle told him, to which his lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "What is your name, I can't keep calling you genie."

A laugh escaped his lips, not many would ask for his name, he couldn't recall the last one before Alice to even refer to him by such. "My name is Cyrus, my lady."

* * *

Emma shoved her key the lock and turned it, her mind still wrapped up in the strange occurrence at Gold's. Nearly everything in Storybrooke was strange, and she'd become accustom to that, but nothing was ever benign when it came to Gold. He was always up to something, and that normally meant trouble for her family.

She swung the door open to find Henry doing his homework at the kitchen table, a mug of hot chocolate close at hand. There were still moments it seemed surreal to her to walk into a room and see her son sitting there. When she'd given him up all those years ago she had thought she'd closed that chapter in her life. She thought she might have kids someday, but this one was not meant for her. He was not meant to be in her life, and yet he hunted her down and dragged her into the weirdest reality she'd ever seen.

She loved him and wanted the best for him, but she really didn't think she was truly cut out to be a mother. She was having a hard enough time trying to wrap her mind around the fact her parents were close in age to herself. It also didn't help that her mother always looked at her with so much sadness, it made her wonder if Mary Margaret had hoped once the spell was broken everything was suddenly going to revert to the way it had been and they would start over.

"Hey kid, how goes the homework?" she inquired, tossing her keys down on the kitchen counter and starting the kettle.

"Great. Did you invite Mr. Gold and Belle for Thanksgiving dinner later this week?" he asked her, looking up from his books to take a long sip of his hot chocolate.

She nodded as she dug through the cupboards looking for the tea bags. "Yeah, and Belle is bringing a friend. They were pretty shifty about it."

"Shifty? You must've been to see Gold," David said as he walked through the door with Mary Margaret close behind him. Ever since the spell had been broken they were hardly ever apart, except when Mary Margaret and Emma had fallen into what was left of the Enchanted Forest.

"Oh, I invited him and Belle for dinner and for some reason Belle asked if she could bring a friend but wouldn't give me the person's name and Gold pretty much told me to get out after that."

"Sounds like him, but I don't have any idea who this friend would be. Belle has been locked away for years, and even if she'd made a friend or two in town we would likely know who it is," Mary Margaret said as she sat down at the table to look over Henry's work.

David thought on it as well, knowing that Gold normally didn't like Belle to be out of his sight. He didn't question that little quirk, he hated to have Mary Margaret out of his sight if it could be helped. Not that he was afraid Regina was going to try something; he was well aware his wife could hold her own, but after so long not even knowing who the other was, and then the time he thought she was lost to him for good, along with his daughter, he couldn't bear to be without her. "I'm sure we'll find out who it is soon enough. You know Belle likes to keep to herself, she's always been more comfortable with her books over people. The fact she has a friend outside of Gold is amazing in itself."

"You have a point. I guess there is no reason in pressing it, we'll find out who it is on Thanksgiving, or before if town gossip works the way it normally does," Mary Margaret commented, taking the kettle off the stove when it began to whistle.

David wrinkled his nose. "You know, I thought we were giving thanks, why are we inviting someone we don't really get along with?"

Emma grinned. "It is tradition, you have to spend these holidays with people you like, as well as those you don't. That is why most normal people drink."

* * *

Belle was completely enthralled with her discovery. She'd read so many books about adventures, had even been on some in her time before Regina had locked her away. Mermaids, pirates, genies and the likes were something she knew existed, having grown up in the Enchanted Forest, but she'd never thought she'd ever meet one of them face to face.

With Rumpel out on some errand or other, which he swore had nothing to do with the genie but she knew it did, she decided she simply had to talk to her new friend again. She loved Rumpel with all her heart, but she longed for someone else to talk to. There was Ruby, but this was someone who she could call on to talk when she longed for conversation and didn't have to fret it could turn into town gossip. She wondered if he would tell her of all the places he had seen, and the things he has done.

She opened the cupboard that Rumpel had stashed the bottle in, quickly grabbing it and heading into the living area in the back of the shop. Rumpel had locked up the shop when he'd left, so there was little chance she would be disturbed.

With a delighted grin on her face she uncorked the bottle and watched in awe as the same orange smoke filled the area, and then dissipated to reveal Cyrus. Much to her amusement he didn't say his normal greeting, just stood with his hands clasped before him and his head slightly bowed.

"You didn't say it," she stated, her eyes glittering with excitement. She could hardly wait for him to tell her some stories.

He laughed softly. "You asked me not to say it, or your gentleman friend requested me to stop."

"I just thought, you know, old habits die hard. I'm sure it has been many years you've been repeating those words," she said.

"More lifetimes then you can imagine," he told her, as she jumped up and walked into the kitchen asking if he would like some tea.

"I just thought you might like a cup, you do drink tea don't you? I don't really know anything about people like you so I'm just making an assumption," she rambled, trying to fill the quiet with something.

"Yes, I do like tea. Thank you for asking, but why did you summon me? It cannot be solely for a little tea party," he stated, still standing in the same place in the sitting room.

"Actually, I did. Rumpel is out and there aren't many books around here to read. I've never been overly fond of that magical box with the moving pictures either. I wanted someone to talk with," she explained from the kitchen, wishing she could speed along the tea making process so she could get to talking and hearing an amazing story or two.

The minutes seemed to drag like hours for Belle as she made the tea, but soon she was bringing it out on a tray with some biscuits she found in the cupboard.

Much to her amusement Cyrus was looking around the sitting room with a bit of awe in his eyes. She knew the feeling, when she finally was set free from the room Regina had kept her she could hardly believe everything she was seeing.

She set the tray on the coffee table and sat down, something Cyrus quickly mimicked by sitting across from her as she served the tea. "I have a feeling you are longing for stories," he said, smiling.

Belle blushed a bit, maybe she was a little more obvious than she had thought. "Yes, I'd love to hear of all the places you've been and things you have seen. It must be an interesting life."

"It can be," he answered as he began telling her amazing stories of magic and adventure, and she sat in rapt amazement hanging off his every word.

* * *

"And just how, may I ask, do you figure we're getting out of Wonderland?" Will inquired as he followed Alice through the woods. He was rather glad they'd accomplished their goal, although it wasn't exactly the ending he had envisioned, but at least he'd be going home soon.

"How else? The rabbit," she told him, not bothering to turn to make sure he was still behind her. He could tell just by her tone of voice she was pleased with everything, and was anxious to get out of Wonderland before Jafar or the Red Queen caught up with them.

He wondered how she expected to find said rabbit, as he didn't always turn up when he was wanted when he suddenly came out of nowhere. "Bloody hell, warn a person would you?" he exclaimed, slamming into Alice in his surprise.

"And for once, you're right on time," the rabbit said, something akin to a smirk on his face. "Let's not mince words either, you both need to get out of here. The Red Queen has eyes everywhere, but Jafar is the one who will be out for blood. I'm going underground but you both need to get out of here and fast."

"Then quit talking and start digging!" Will snapped, and much to his pleasure the rabbit did exactly what he wanted.

As the portal opened to take them away from Wonderland, hopefully forever, the rabbit bid them farewell and good luck. Will had no idea why they needed any luck, life in Storybrooke was preferable to this upside down and crazy world.

_AN: I'm going to make all attempts to update every Thursday, although I should be back at some point over the week end. I have this posted elsewhere up to around chapter five I do believe, but thought I would share here as well as my little one shot was well received. I have to post from a different computer as my main one takes hissy fits on this website. There are some typos in this chapter, I know they're there but cannot locate them again, so please forgive that. I hope whoever reads this enjoys it, and I promise to be back with more chapters soon. And thank you for the reviews on **Kindred Spirits**, I'm glad people enjoyed it!_


	3. Gathering Information

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

It was a slow news day, although every day in Storybrooke seemed to be one so far as Sidney Glass was concerned. It wasn't that he was complaining, per say, but it sure would be nice to have something to publish in the daily paper, other than just the regular run of the mill events and if granny had something new on her menu. That seemed to be the most riveting bit of information every week.

He glanced up when his office door swung open, surprised to be interrupted as he wasn't expecting anyone.

"What do you know of a sorcerer named Jafar?" Rumpel demanded as he strode into the room.

Sidney cocked an eyebrow curiously. "And a good afternoon to you Mr. Gold, I'm having a lovely day, thanks for asking."

Rumpel snarled slightly, not overly impressed with the sarcastic pleasantries. "I'm not here to discuss the weather, I asked you a question and normally when I ask a question I expect it to be answered."

"I'm well aware of that. Why don't you take a seat, you're making me nervous standing there like that," he suggested, gesturing to the chair across from him. Once the other man sat down, he continued. "I do know of this Jafar, but I have no idea how you came to hear about him. He was a powerful sorcerer in Agrabah whose thirst for power certainly could outshine just about anyone you've ever met. And that includes Regina."

Rumpel was less than impressed with that explanation. "I already came to the conclusion he was power hungry, but you haven't really told me anything I don't already know."

Sidney shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I can't exactly grant you the explanations you wish for if I have no idea why you're asking about him. The last I ever heard he was still in Agrabah."

"What I say to you does not leave this room, I do not need Regina and everyone else knocking down my door to get their hands on what Belle discovered. Do you understand me? If you thought being locked away in the basement of the hospital was a painful experience, it is nothing like the pain you would experience for crossing me," Rumpel threatened as he leaned over the desk, his eyes flashing with fire.

"Trust me, I wouldn't want to cross you. No one in this town wants to cross you. I swear I won't tell anyone what you tell me, no matter what," Sidney promised, a statement which seemed to placate the other man for he sat back in his seat and clutched his cane in what almost appeared to be a nervous way.

"Belle discovered a bottle today. It did not seem to be anything more than a lost trinket but I could sense magic surrounding it. I insisted she just put it in the cupboard and leave it be, but you know how inquisitive she can be. She pulled the cork out of it and the next thing I knew a genie was standing in front of us. He gave us the normal party line, his will and all that gibberish but then informed us that his will is still tied to a young lady in Wonderland. This girl had wished him away, for his own safety. Of course, this raised my suspicions as he is rather quick to retreat to his bottle if anyone walks into the shop. After lunch I decided to pay a visit on Jefferson and he informed me the last time he'd made a trip to Wonderland he'd heard talk of this Jafar and the Red Queen plotting something. Time moves differently there, so goodness knows how long this has been going on. So I ask again, what do you know of Jafar?"

Sidney felt his throat go dry. This wasn't good, in the least. Jafar was not someone to be toyed with, and he only had this from second hand accounts. "Just out of curiosity, did this genie give you his name?" he softly inquired.

"Yes, it is Cyrus. Does that mean anything to you? Do you genies have some sort of network like those annoying fairies?" Rumpel spat out, getting rather frustrated with this conversation. He had assumed Sidney might be able to give him more information than Jefferson, but obviously he'd assumed wrong.

"I'm not sure, but Jafar was looking for a rather powerful genie. I've never heard of this Cyrus, so I really can't tell you much of anything. And no, we didn't have a network or anything like that, you just hear things. When you live in objects most people keep around the house it happens. All I know is Jafar wants to change the laws of magic but needed a genie with a power unlike any other. I was once considered the most powerful genie in Argrabah, but he never went after me. If this one has been wished away from one realm, and seems to take to hiding at the first hint of trouble I'd say he's been stalked for quite some time," he stated.

Rumpel rolled his eyes. "Well that is helpful. You haven't told me much more than I already knew."

"There is one little thing, why would anyone in possession of a genie wish it away? In my experience people normally want their three wishes," Sidney mused aloud.

"Well isn't that the million dollar question, as they seem to be apt to say in this realm," Rumpel snapped. He was rather annoyed he'd wasted his time on this conversation. The only new information he'd gathered is this Jafar wanted to change the laws of magic itself, and that made him uneasy.

* * *

When he finally landed, Will heard two very distinct sounds: the sound of a body colliding with a hard surface, and a splash. He opened his eyes to find himself looking up a bright blue, cloudless sky and was instantly thankful that the splash hadn't been him. That was until he noted a man who thought a hook made a great hand was standing over him.

"Well, it was rather nice of you to drop in unexpected, but normally I prefer pretty lasses to men," the man drawled, quirking the corner of his mouth slightly in what could have been a smile or a smirk, Will wasn't exactly certain which.

"Sorry to be a disappointment, but it would seem my companion has landed in the water so if you would be so kind as to fish her out, I'd be much obliged," he said, just as Alice hopped over the railing of the ship. "Never mind then, seems she climbed up all on her own. Resourceful girl she is."

The man with the hook for a hand looked over at Alice, his eyes taking on a look Will wasn't overly comfortable with. "I wouldn't get any funny ideas, the girl knows how to use a sword and I hear her fiancé is pretty adapt at it as well."

"I can defend myself you know," Alice piped up, reaching up to wring some of the sea water out of her hair.

Will put his hands up in the air in defeat. "Well excuse me for trying to defend your honour without the love of your life around to do it for you!" he shot back.

She grinned, walking over to him all the time keeping an eye on the other man on deck. "Cyrus knows I need no defending, I thought you knew that by now as well."

A cough interrupted their exchange, and both turned their full attention to the taller man dressed in black. "As thrilling as this conversation is, I still have no idea how you landed on my ship in the middle of the sea."

"Simple really," Alice told him. "We needed to get away from a bad situation and a friend gave us a way out. It would seem though, from the look on Will's face, we didn't end up where we thought we would."

"You're bloody right we're not in Storybrooke! Last I checked it wasn't a floating pirate ship in the middle of the sea," Will said, looking around wildly for any sign of dry land. Just because he was on a boat didn't mean his fear of water wasn't still running high.

The man grinned, a contemplative look crossing his face. "Storybrooke, eh? Is that where you are trying to go? Isn't that just luck, I'm trying to find my way to the fair town as well, maybe we should join forces to find our way there."

"What do you want in Storybrooke, hook for hand?" Will asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He could tell by the way Alice stiffened slightly that she wasn't all that happy with their present company either.

"Just after the crocodile who cut off my hand is all. Where are my manners, my name is Captain Killian Jones, and you are?" he inquired, bowing slightly.

"The name is Will, and this is Alice. I also hate to break it to you, but there are no crocodiles in Storybrooke," he commented, feeling his suspicions rise.

Killian, or whom they both decided to dub Hook, grinned. "It is more a figure of speech then a literal translation of the beast I am hunting. Unless you want to swim for shore and find another way to the fair town you seek I say we have a common interest. My ship is your home until we make our way to Storybrooke."

They both thanked him, inwardly vowing to be very careful what they said around him. He may give the appearance of a friendly, harmless pirate but looks could always be deceiving.

* * *

It was about mid day, and Cyrus thought he'd never been so bored in all his existence. Belle was at the library, and Rumpel was out on some errand again. Although Belle had wanted to take him with her to the library, for some reason Rumpel refused to let him out of the shop. He supposed he should be content to be able to roam about as he liked in the shop itself, but the outside world was a rather curious looking place he would like to explore as well.

Not to mention when he became bored, at times he had a talent for finding his way into some mischief or other when he was not confined to his bottle. He could recall one or two of his masters in the past, the more amiable ones, commenting he was a bit like a wide eyed youth. He'd never really understood that comment, he couldn't help his curiosity with the world around him when he spent most of his time locked away in a bottle. He remembered early on in his existence having a desire to know about everything around him, but slowly learned to suppress it, as not all masters appreciated a genie that wanted more than just granting wishes.

He'd been grateful to have a few masters who actually didn't mind his curious nature, but as the years went on human nature seemed to change and he'd learned quickly to keep his mind on the task at hand and not worry about anything else. Some of his masters had been less than pleased when he'd told them the four rules, but they soon got over it by wishing for the standard things. Cyrus honestly began to wonder if the entire human race consisted of nothing but greed driven people with a mean streak.

That was until Alice had come into his life. She was the first person he'd met that had not used up the wishes he gave in a short amount of time. Most people did use them, some faster than others, but they always used them and they went on with their lives whilst he waited for someone else to find him. She was the first person to promise not to use the wishes, so they could stay together. They were a strange pair, he knew that, a genie and a mortal girl but they complimented each other so well. He was able to show her the wonders of the world around her, while she proved to him that not all humans were cruel and filled with greed. They were both lonely souls, but had found a type of freedom in each other.

He pushed the thoughts and memories from his mind, as he wandered about the shop and started poking through cupboards and the likes. This Rumpelstiltskin was a strange man of whom he wanted to know more about, mostly because he said very little and what was said was rather cutting. He tried to stay clear of the man, but couldn't help it if he was a little curious about this person called the Dark One. He had a feeling it was on Belle's insistence he was even out and about and not in the cupboard as Rumpel would prefer.

Most of what he found seemed to be papers with numbers, which he fancied had some purpose to do with the shop but was of little interest to him. From all the talk he'd heard between Rumpel and Belle he'd guessed this was a town full of people from the Enchanted Forest, but how they got here he had not a clue. He was hoping to find something that would explain this mystery to him, but to no avail. The man kept his secrets rather close to his heart it would seem.

Right when he was about to give up finding anything, he found a latched box. Although he knew better then to go through other people's things, he couldn't help giving in to the desire to look. He wanted to know more about the people he was living with, Belle was very friendly but Rumpel was less than so. If it took a bit of poking through things to glean anything about the man he didn't see the harm in it.

He removed the box from the cupboard it was stashed in, and slowly opened the lid to discover a piece of cloth. It didn't seem like much, but was of some sentimental value that he could not discern.

He was so wrapped up in his musings that he didn't even hear someone enter the shop until he was thrown up against the wall and felt something hard pressed against his chest. "And what do you think you're doing dearie? I thought you were told to behave when we were out," Rumpel snarled, his face mere inches from Cyrus'.

"I'm sorry," was all he could manage to get out before the pressure on his chest grew. He'd been known to anger a master or two in his time, but this was taking it to a whole new level. This time he didn't exactly have anything to offer, such as however many wishes his master had left. Rumpel was only keeping him around for Belle's sake, and right about now he was having visions of his bottle being tossed in the ocean with himself in it.

Rumpel pushed his cane a little harder into his house guest's chest, his eyes flashing with fury. "You didn't answer the question, what do you think you're doing?" he snapped as Cyrus began to cough, finding it hard to breathe.

Figuring he'd get no answers if the man was unconscious or dead, he released his hold on him, smirking slightly when the genie fell to the ground in a heap. It took a few moments before he received an answer, not that it was much of one. "I was simply curious about this place, I am sorry to have gone through your personal effects," the genie apologized, glancing up to gauge the other man's response.

Rumpel didn't say anything for a moment, merely leveled Cyrus with a hard stare. "No wonder you had to be wished away from danger, you certainly can't hold your own."

In a flash the genie was on his feet holding a blade to the other man's throat. "I most certainly can hold my own. Do not judge me too swiftly, Rumpelstitskin."

Rumpel grinned, now he was starting to see something other than a magical being who only existed to serve others. He still had his doubt this genie held great power, but maybe it lay beneath the surface waiting to be let out.

"I see you're making friends in your usual way, imp," a female voice drawled, causing both men to glance over to see Regina leaning against a counter with a smirk on her face.

Cyrus withdrew his sword and took a step back, preferring not to garner too much of the woman's attention. He still wasn't sure if the place he'd landed was friendly or hostile, but he could sense powerful magic off this woman as well. He was already walking a fine line with Rumpelstiltskin and felt it unwise to anger yet someone else.

"Ah yes, well you know how it is dearie, good friends are so hard to find these days. And how may I help you?" Rumpel inquired, walking over to her.

Regina's keen eyes darted over to look at Cyrus again, knowing he wasn't one of the people brought over with the curse, but also knew he wasn't a regular person from the realm they currently resided who'd simply passed their borders. After a pause she turned her attention back to the man she'd come to talk to.

"I'm here actually about this dinner you, Belle and your strange friend were invited to by Henry. I find it a bit disconcerting my son seems to believe that you are the one who called off the magic so Emma and Snow could return from the Enchanted Forest," she explained.

"Funny how children have selective memories that way. I don't see how this is my concern, if he chose to invite us and not you there really isn't much I can do for it. Go talk to Mary Margaret or her dear prince," he answered, trying to wave her off.

Regina wasn't having any of it. "Oh yes, talking to the two idiots would certainly get me far. Henry seems to think I'm going to kill one of them, or even him."

"Why?" Cyrus inquired, suddenly realizing he'd wanted to stay out of the conversation a beat too lately. Internally he cursed his curiosity; it had gotten him into enough trouble for one day as it was.

"Because I'm the Evil Queen from story books, that's why. You really aren't from around here are you?" she snapped, her eyes going slightly wide at the notion. She'd never thought a stranger would find their way into the small town again, and her mind was racing at the implications of that idea.

"Don't worry about him, he's harmless as they come. Now, if you want to procure yourself an invite to this dinner I think you need to talk to one of the Charming family. And if you don't mind, I'm in the process of reprimanding my house guest, so I would appreciate it if you'd be on your way," Rumpel instructed her, making sure his tone made it more than obvious that he wanted her gone.

Much to his surprise, Regina made to leave. She only gave a parting shot about not killing the house guest and was on her way. Once the door closed, Rumpel turned his full attention back to Cyrus.

"Seeing as you like to get into matters that are of no concern to you, I suppose I may as well give you a job. Crossing the town line causes the majority of the inhabitants of this town to forget who they really are, which is a shame as I am searching for someone who is clearly not in this town. To keep you busy and out of things that are no concern to you, I think you could spend time trying to find a way around this little problem. It is the least you can do, after I graciously decided to let you live after going through my personal things," Rumpel told him, to which Cyrus quickly agreed.

He had no idea how exactly he was going to find a way around this strange predicament, but he rather preferred that to any other punishment the man might deem fit to dole out. Besides, it would keep his mind off the fact Jafar would come looking for him sooner or later. Not to mention it would also keep him from wondering what fate befell Alice after she had made her first wish.

* * *

Will hated ships, he decided they were just as bad as being in the water. Of course at the moment water wasn't filling his lungs, but that wasn't the point. The constant swaying of the ship was enough to make him green.

Alice on the other hand didn't seem to be too bothered by it all. He fancied that had to do with all the adventures she'd been on with Cyrus, one of which included pirates he if remembered correctly. It amazed him how those two managed to do so many things in such a short time together.

"You know, you could help a fellow out by using one of the wishes to get us off this thing and to Storybrooke, lickity split you know," he suggested as she turned to look at him rather aghast.

"You know I can't do that. I promised him I wouldn't use any of my wishes," she said, a tinge of guilt lacing her voice as she spoke.

"I'll never understand the point of having a genie for a boyfriend if you can't get some wishes out of the deal. Honestly, what could go wrong?" he persisted, leaning back against the cot in the room they were sharing. He had made certain they were to bunk together as he didn't trust any of the pirates. Alice could hold her own, no doubt in that, but he wasn't taking chances.

Alice sat down beside him, hanging her head. "The problem is once I make the third he returns to his bottle and is gone. That is what the problem is. I promised him I wouldn't use any of them, and now that I have I've broken the promise. I can't imagine what he must've thought," she sighed.

Will sat up and reached out to force her to look him in the eyes. "I'll tell you what he thought, he was likely happy not to be kept in a cage anymore for starters. You babble on about love but you must realize, everyone makes mistakes and love is about compromise. I'm sure Cyrus understood your reasoning; we could not get to him without one or all of us ending up dead. Did any of us want to see Jafar finish with his plot to change the laws of magic? Did you want to lose him again, this time permanently? Maybe he felt slightly betrayed you used a wish when you promised you wouldn't use any, but the truth of the matter is he's smart enough to realize you had no choice. The man is going to forever be the male counterpart to a damsel in distress so long as he's out in this semi-freedom from that bottle. There will always be someone after him. Give him some credit, he should know human nature well enough to realize you'd eventually use at least one wish. Just be careful with the last two and you'll enjoy a long life together with him."

A sad smile crossed Alice's face, she knew what he was saying was true. If there had been any other way he knew she'd have taken it. So long as she was very careful with the last two wishes, or technically one as she'd promised one to Will for his assistance, there was nothing to worry about.

The two of them fell into an easy conversation, not even hearing the small, stout man on the other side of the closed door shuffle away with a grin on his face. He could hardly wait to tell the captain what information he'd uncovered.

* * *

"Rumpel, what did you do?" Belle asked when she came out of the spare room.

He looked up at her, completely confused. He did a good many things in the course of a day, some good, some bad and the others in between those mediums. She'd have to narrow it down a bit.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. What on earth could he have gotten into to deserve to almost have his breathing cut off by your cane?"

"Oh, that. I didn't think he'd be the type to complain about it honestly," he answered rather flippantly.

Belle crossed her arms across her chest and gave him a look of disappointment. "He didn't, but you forget his clothing does give me a view of the large bruise on his chest. Why did you do that?" she inquired.

Rumpel shrugged his shoulders, not looking up from the papers he was reading. "I suppose we best get him something new to wear before that dinner with the Charmings. And to answer your question he was snooping through my things and I lost my patience. You know I do not appreciate people going through my belongings. Rest assured I won't do it again, as I doubt he'll repeat that mistake."

Belle sighed and sat in the chair across the coffee table from him. "Rumpel, you can't go around hurting people because you get angry at them," she reprimanded, resting one of her hands on his upper arm.

To that, he laughed. "Don't worry Belle, I don't plan on getting into a fight with him in the near future. It turns out he's quite quick with a sword. Another reason to find him new clothes, I'd rather he not have easy access to that weapon of his if I happen to anger him in the future."


	4. Dinners, Plotting and Making Friends

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

The cool late autumn air wafted through the open window, tousling his hair slightly as he looked at himself in the mirror. He wasn't sure what he thought of these new clothes, but had been instructed he was to wear them, like it or not. He was leaning closer to the not in the equation but fancied it would be better if he tried to fit in. It was a little hard to look like everyone else in his usual garb.

Besides, he didn't want to upset Belle in any way. She had been rather pleased when she'd come in a few hours earlier with a couple bags filled with men's clothing. He had to admit at least she had found colours that suited him well.

A slight rap at the door brought him out of his thoughts, and he granted the person leave to enter the room. Belle came in, dressed nicely in a yellow dress and her hair pinned up. He could not help but compliment her, as she truly did embody her name. Although her outer beauty was nothing compared to what was inside. She walked over and fussed a bit with the outfit he'd chosen for the evening.

"Don't we look smart? I thought since what you normally wore were all those warm tones you'd look good in these. I'm sorry I didn't get you any shoes, but the trousers do cover your boots pretty well. I've tried to buy Rumpel nice sweaters like this many times and he just refuses to wear them," she rambled, fixing his hair where the wind had blown it about.

Cyrus grinned slightly, wondering if this was what it was like to have a mother doting on you. It certainly felt nice, and brought back memories of Alice. At times he wondered how she dealt with him, he couldn't help feeling insecure at times and worrying that she'd use up her wishes and be done with him one day. The fact she'd used one already, despite being the only logical solution to the predicament they were all in still worried him. It would be so simple for her to use the last two and once more he'd be waiting for someone else to find him. He knew he could never be free of that bottle, but he wanted to be with Alice as long as fate allowed.

"Why so sad?" Belle inquired, noting the sadness that had suddenly washed over his face. She'd always been one who was very in tune with people's emotions and hated to see anyone unhappy.

Cyrus smiled slightly, assuring her it was nothing. "Oh no, I know your look. I'm certain it was the same look I wore when Rumpel pretty much sent me away back in the Enchanted Forest. I really and truly did love him but he thought he was a creature undeserving of love. He was wrong, obviously. I know he is abrasive, can be rather cruel and exceptionally anti social, but I know deep down there is a good person. He just has been lost in his darkness so long he doesn't realize that person is still in there," she explained, sitting down on the end of the bed and pulling him into a sitting position beside her. "You're in love with this Alice, I can tell."

"Yes, I am. It is complicated though, if she uses up her last two wishes then we will be parted. You cannot wish a genie free; it does not end well for anyone involved. As much as I long for that, I know it isn't a possibility. I know her life will pass in the blink of an eye compared to mine and I long to spend it with her, but I cannot help but fear she will tire of me or something will happen and she will make her last two wishes and finally move on with her life," he explained, feeling slightly foolish and a little better for putting his fears into words. There was just something about Belle that was reassuring; you knew you could talk to her about anything.

She smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Despite how long he had lived, she could see he was very much a confused young man, full of worries and insecurities. "You just have to trust her. That is all anyone can do when they're in love; trust the other person. There is always the chance that she will use her last two wishes and move on, but dwelling on it will take away the joy you have with her in the present. The future will happen and we cannot stop it, so there really is no point in worrying about it. Enjoy what we have, and be thankful for it," she said.

He did not answer that, as he felt there was no need. They both sat in amiable silence for quite some time just listening to the wind outside rustling the scarlet and gold leaves that still remained on the trees. Both were so lost in their own thoughts they didn't even hear Rumpel walk into the room until he was standing in front of them.

"Well, isn't this adorable. As much as I would like to skip this dinner tonight, we did make a promise and you know I never go back on a promise. Even if it is a dinner with the insufferable Charmings. We should likely be off before the prince thinks there is some conspiracy in the works," he drawled, pulling Belle and Cyrus from their thoughts.

"Oh, right. Sorry Rumpel, we were just talking and lost track of time," Belle stated as they both stood up and followed him out of the room.

Rumpel snorted. "Telepathically I see, never knew you had that talent dearie. Hopefully we can get through tonight without any incident or too many questions. I don't feel much like answering questions about why we have a genie living with us now, or where he came from."

Belle nodded, as did Cyrus. They couldn't argue that logic and even if they wanted to they could tell he was not in the mood to be trifled with.

* * *

"It is moments like this I almost miss having servants," Mary Margaret moaned as she set the last silver knife down, after spending the last hour or more polishing all of it for their dinner.

Emma gathered the cutlery up and walked towards the table. "You mean we had servants? That would have been rather nice," she thought out loud, making the others laugh slightly. "I still don't understand why we had to have the silver out. It isn't like anyone is going to have a huge reaction, they likely won't know the difference between it and the stainless steel."

David came out of the kitchen area with a tray of wine glasses in hand, and quickly set about putting them at each of the place settings. "No, no one is going to know the difference but we will. It just looks nice, that's all. The nicer the place setting the more like an occasion it will be."

"Whatever," Emma said as they heard a rap at the door. Henry jumped up off the chesterfield and dashed over to answer it. An eager smile brightened his face when he beheld Rumpel, Belle and someone he'd never seen before in his life.

"Good evening Henry," Rumpel greeted as Henry ushered them all in and then offered to take their jackets. "My my, looks like someone has taught you proper etiquette."

Emma wrinkled her nose at that comment. "Yeah, that would've been Regina, he came pre trained with that habit. Who's your friend?"

"Always so blunt Miss Swan. This is our new friend, Cyrus. Hopefully he finds it a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but that has yet to be seen," Rumpel said, as Cyrus bowed when he was introduced.

David raised an eyebrow slightly as Mary Margaret smiled. "Quite the gentleman there, and it is very nice to meet you. My name is Mary Margaret, this is my husband David, our daughter Emma and grandson Henry."

Belle almost choked with laughter when a rather perplexed expression washed over Cyrus' face. She could almost see him trying to do the math in his mind, in an attempt to make any form of sense of the family before him. Even Rumpel was trying not to laugh, and failing miserably. Finally Cyrus looked to her for some form of explanation, which rather surprised her considering he could have just asked his questions to the Charmings on his own. 'Maybe he's just a little shy, I know I would be if I were thrown into this sort of situation,' Belle mused.

"It is a very long story, and I suppose I owe you one after the hours you entertained me with stories the other day," she explained, to which he simply nodded.

That seemed to satisfy him well enough, and they all fell into a rather easy conversation, with the exception of Cyrus who still seemed slightly confused with how these people could all be related.

* * *

Hook leaned back in his chair, a grin washing over his face. This was rather serendipitous indeed, normally he had to force the hand of fate but it would appear fate was giving him a gift for once.

"And you are certain that is what you heard Smee?" he asked, wanting to be absolutely sure he'd heard correctly before he took this information any further.

The short man nodded, his red hat almost flopping off his head with the vigourous action. "Yes Captain, the girl talked about a genie and how she used a wish to get him out of trouble. She still has two wishes, and doesn't want to use them so they won't be parted forever."

Hook's smile only grew; he really could not believe his luck. "It would seem fortune has smiled upon us today, and dropped a gift very literally in our lap. Thank you for the information, I always knew you'd be good for something. Now get out of my sight and make yourself useful."

Smee didn't have to be told twice, and was out of the captain's quarters in a couple seconds. Hook stood up quickly and walked over to his small desk and quickly opened one of the drawers. Inside was a trinket that resembled a serpent, certainly not one of his favourite creatures in the world but he needed it to contact his ally. Although he wasn't exactly certain how he was to use it, as he turned it over in his hand and then gave it a slight tap with his hook. It was possible he should have listened a little more carefully when he'd entered into this pact.

"Honestly, it seems to be almost impossible to find capable allies these days," a deep voice behind him said, causing Hook to jump ever so slightly.

He turned to behold a rather translucent shape behind him, slowly taking the form of a man holding a staff with the head of a serpent, the eyes glimmering a fiery red. "Magic isn't exactly my forte, Jafar," he answered, setting the trinket aside.

Jafar sneered, his gaze turning hard. "Neither is pirating it would seem, yet you continue on. Do you have any information for me, or were you just having a bit of fun with it?"

"Calm down, I do have some information for you. I didn't find your missing genie, but I did find his lady love as well as her companion. They're on my ship at the moment, and she still has two of her wishes left. Rather distraught little thing she is I guess, for wishing the genie away from you. Some rambling about how they won't be together if the last two are used up," he rambled, sitting back down in his chair and reaching for a bottle of rum.

"Foolish child, you cannot love a genie. They are a servant, a slave to their masters. She'd have saved me the trouble if she'd just treated the relationship as that. Love only complicates things," Jafar growled as he paced about the room.

Hook shrugged, he didn't know much about genies other than he was gleaning they weren't to grow attached to anyone, and definitely received the short end of the stick when it came to a lot in life. "If that is so, why is he so in love with the lass?"

"It would seem this particular genie is the exception to the rule. Not all genies just spring into existence, some mortals are cursed into that life. But the rule is still the same, they do not get attached to their masters and never entertain notions of love or friendship. They completely forget their mortal life once they are bound to their bottle, and lose all mortal notions of friendship and love. Either way, he can never be set free and he is smart enough to know that. Even if he desired that, he would warn her against it as he knows the dire consequences of that particular wish," Jafar ranted, much to Hook's amusement.

"That is all well and good, but it doesn't explain why you want him or how you're going to find him. I just have his lady and some smart mouthed chap on my ship. I don't see how that is going to find you that genie, unless she wishes him here," Hook drawled while he sat there waiting for an answer as he watched the rum slosh about in his glass from the rocking of the ship.

Jafar grinned; a grin Hook decided was certainly not friendly or pleasant. "That is not for you to fret your mind over; I have another seeking out the genie in all the realms possible. You have the girl, and when the genie is found I will be sure you find your way to where he is," he promised.

Hook grimaced, he really didn't want to go on a wild goose chase for a genie, he was more interested in revenge on Rumpelstiltskin. "Fear not, you will still get your revenge. But what is more important to you; killing the man who murdered your love or having her back from the dead?" Jafar queried.

"You already know the answer to that," Hook snarled, clutching his glass tightly in his hand. "But how is holding on to Alice going to do this for me?"

"Simple really, I need her to be forced into making her wishes thereby freeing him from her service. I've tried to create situations in which she'd use them, but to no avail. The girl is too resourceful in Wonderland, but in your company that could change. It is human nature to wish for things you do not have, and she is no different from anyone else no matter what he believes. If you want your precious Milah back in your arms, you will keep this girl with you. When my spy finds the genie, a way to the realm he is hiding in will appear to you," Jafar said before vanishing into thin air.

Hook sighed, what had he gotten himself into? As if dealing with Peter Pan wasn't enough, now he had a sorcerer telling him what to do. He also had the sinking suspicion Jafar was keeping other details from him, but instead of giving it too much contemplation he decided to pour himself another glass of rum.

* * *

Cyrus was still rather confused about the relationships of the Charmings, in all his years he'd never seen parents the same age as their child, but did not feel comfortable enough to ask. He'd enjoyed the freedom he'd had with Alice, but he still had a hard time actually expressing any concerns with anyone outside of her, although Belle came a close second as there was something about her that made him open up to her.

It didn't help this situation was rather out of his element. He was accustom to dealing with only one person at a time, possibly two. With Belle and Rumpel he was relatively at ease, more so when it was only Belle as she was friendlier than Rumpel. That he was used to, it had been that way for a long time. One person at a time, not groups of them which asked lots of questions. He had actually become used to larger groups when he was with Alice, but those were few and far between. In the long run it had normally been just the two of them.

But even when there were lots of people around before when he was with Alice, they were on some adventure or other, which wasn't completely out of what he was used to. Sometimes you had to be able to hold your own when you had a master without much in lieu of wits about them. He could recall a few who were better at finding their way into trouble than making wishes that would keep them out of it. He'd had to talk, or fight, some of his former master's ways out of quite a bit of trouble. Not that he ever received much in way of thanks for the effort, just a nod and being told to get back in his bottle. It didn't bother him overly much, he simply hoped after the third wish was made whoever found him next had some common sense.

Nothing about this situation made sense to him, not the dinner party and certainly the fact that he still, for lack of any other way to word it, belonged to Alice. It really was fortunate Belle was the one who found him, she was more interested in someone who could tell her fantastic stories than having wishes granted. And he certainly had enough stories to entertain her for years to come, if given the opportunity to tell them to her.

His musings were cut short when Henry sat down next to him on the chesterfield. "Hey there Cyrus, you having a nice time?" he inquired.

"Yes, I am. It was very kind of you to allow me to accompany Belle and Rumpelstiltskin," he answered, earning himself a huge grin from Henry.

"It's Thanksgiving; I couldn't exactly leave you out. I'm just curious though, where did you come from? I've pretty well figured everyone out since the curse broke but you weren't here before, not that I can remember," Henry stated, much to Cyrus' dismay. He really didn't want to be answering these questions if it could be helped.

Much to his joy Mary Margaret announced supper was ready to be served so he was able to avoid the question for the time being.

It seemed Henry had designated a place for them all, to which they all fell into place. Cyrus was happy to find himself seated next to Belle but not overly thrilled to be sat next to David as well. It wasn't an ideal situation as he found this person who was also referred to as Charming a bit tiresome.

Everything seemed to be going well, that is until he grasped a piece of cutlery. As he wasn't expecting to feel that burn it took him a few seconds to realize he was grasping silver. With a gasp he dropped the offending object and pulled his hand in towards his chest, shocked they would even consider using such a metal at a dinner.

Belle was the first to act on his strange antic. "Cyrus, what's the matter?" she inquired, her voice laced with worry.

"Silver, I can't be near it," he softly whispered, not exactly wanting everyone else to be aware of that fact. He was still trying to decide who he could trust and who he had to avoid in this new place. As he'd told Alice: being a genie was akin to being a wanted man.

Of course, his reaction was noted by everyone and they were all quick to ask what the problem was. "Oh, it is nothing. He's allergic to silver," Belle told them, smiling in hopes of taking their minds off it.

"Allergic to silver, that is the weirdest thing I've ever heard," Emma stated. "I've heard of nickel allergies, but I've never seen anyone with a burning reaction to silver like that."

Mary Margaret, on the other hand, was familiar with that particular affliction. She looked at their guest, with suspicion filling her eyes, yet when she spoke she was addressing Rumpel. "Would you mind explaining why you brought a genie to Thanksgiving dinner?" she demanded, her tone completely void of emotion.

Henry's eyes lit up, the only genie he'd ever met was Sidney and he no longer had any power. He'd seen the man touch many silver objects and have no issues, so he concluded Cyrus actually was a genie still in possession of his magic. The idea made his mind race. He was going to ask some questions when Rumpel jumped in. "I thought your mother taught you better, Snow White," he admonished.

"She did, but she wasn't there when a certain someone managed to get a freed genie to murder my father," she retorted, a statement that quickly caught Cyrus' attention. This certainly was not going well, not if this person had good reason to hate anyone like him.

"A freed genie, yes, but he isn't free. He is still quite attached to his bottle and will go there if Belle so much as asks him. If that is your desire I am sure he'd be more than happy to leave, since you have just given him a nasty burn on his hand," Rumpel snapped, his tone one he would use on a child who needed to be put in their place.

Mary Margaret said nothing for a moment, mulling over what had been said. "Maybe that would be for the best," she simply said.

"No! If he's not welcome then I'm leaving as well. He's my friend, and I will not stay in the company of such hateful people," Belle blurted out, leveling Mary Margaret with a glare. "I remember hearing tales of Princess Snow White, how good and kind she was but it is becoming more than obvious that is all they were: fairy tales. You always go on about how accepting you are, but right here and now you've proven that to be nothing more than a lie."

Rumpel smiled rather appreciatively at Belle, he'd honestly been longing for someone to call Mary Margaret on some of her less than attractive character traits. He could understand the mistrust she'd feel towards the genie, which was why he'd hoped to keep that little piece of information a secret, but it was another to want him to leave simply for being who he is.

"Alright, why don't we all just calm down here!" David firmly said, pulling all attention to him. "Snow, I understand why you would feel some misgivings over Cyrus here, but he hasn't done anything to warrant those feelings. He isn't the genie your father freed and was later murdered by, so you really cannot hold that crime against him. You know all magic comes with a cost and I'm pretty sure I heard wishing a genie free comes with a terrible cost. Your father wished him free, and unfortunately paid with his life.

"Belle, you don't have to leave, nor does your friend. This is Thanksgiving and we're here celebrating family and friends no matter who they are. It would hurt me to think you felt you had to leave over something so trivial.

"And Cyrus, do me a favour and don't drink out of that wine glass," he said, taking a deep breath after his miniature speech.

Cyrus cocked an eyebrow questioningly, that final statement seemed a bit strange. David grinned and reached over to take the glass from his place setting, along with the offending cutlery. "The detailing around the rim of the glass is silver, and something tells me you wouldn't find anything you drank from that comfortable."

"No, it would not be an enjoyable experience," Cyrus agreed.

David stood and walked to the kitchen, returning a few seconds later with a different glass and some stainless steel cutlery. "Now then, you can all go about talking and eating, I'm going to take Cyrus here to the washroom to tend to that burn."

As the two walked out of the room Emma lifted a bottle near at hand and smiled. "Wine anyone?"

* * *

Alice was feeling restless. She hated that she didn't know where exactly she was, other than in the middle of an ocean on a ship with some rather unsavoury characters. She'd dealt with pirates before and knew how to handle herself, but she was growing weary of this entire journey.

She simply wanted to find Cyrus and enjoy some peace. Ever since she'd first returned from Wonderland as a child nothing had ever been the same. She wouldn't have labeled her life with her father as idyllic, as he never stopped mourning his late wife, but it was a lot better than after her trip to Wonderland.

There was nothing worse than being considered a liar and labeled insane. It baffled her how some children could come up with fanciful tales of wonder and it would be humoured by their parents, yet when she arrived on the doorstep of her childhood home with tales of wonderful adventures, the first thing her father had done was called in a doctor.

He couldn't just humour her, pretend it was all real instead of telling her something was mentally wrong with her to create such a fanciful tale. There were moments after that trip she had wondered if it might not be possible that she'd imagined it. So much of it was rather hard to believe, she had to admit.

That was until she'd fallen back down the rabbit hole as a young woman in her quest to find proof. Instead she'd found something completely different and far more meaningful then trying to prove to her father she wasn't insane.

"I don't know how you can stand there and look out at the water, it makes me want to throw up," Will commented coming up beside her.

She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, being so lost in her thoughts she hadn't heard him coming. "I find it calming."

"Yeah well, I find it nauseating. The sooner we get off this bobbing tub the better. I really don't get why that rabbit couldn't have sent us to Storybrooke right from the start," he complained, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned slightly on the railing.

Alice shrugged. "I don't know, sometimes magic doesn't work the way you expect it to. Maybe we came here because this is where Cyrus landed."

"Well, that crazy necklace of his isn't glowing so I think it is a safe bet he's not here. The thing glowed last time from you two being in the same realm, so it would be my guess he isn't here. Which is a shame as I really was hoping we'd at least have a story to tell after this nausea inducing voyage," Will drawled.

"Maybe he's in Storybrooke?" she suggested hopefully, her eyes lighting up at the thought.

Will smiled sadly. "Maybe. There are many places he could have landed, and our chances of finding him are likely quite small. I guess you should have been more specific with that wish."

"I was in a hurry, it looked like things were going poorly," she retorted, annoyed he seemed to be suggesting she hadn't used her wish as wisely as she could have.

"Slow down, I'm not laying any blame here. I'm just saying it is too bad you hadn't wished him somewhere particular we could have found him is all. You two seem to be able to find each other regardless, something like another annoying couple I know," he told her, earning himself a punch in the arm. "Trust me, you and the genie do not even rate on the annoying chart like those two do. I swear they make me want to gauge my eyes out at times."

Hook watched the two of them from his perch, listening idly. This was certainly the strangest relationship he'd ever heard of. He'd heard tell of a fairy and a dwarf once, but a human and a genie was rather peculiar. From what Jafar had told him about genies he'd assumed that they existed solely to serve whoever found them, without any attachment or notions of love.

Of course, there were exceptions to every rule. There obviously was something different about this one, or else Jafar wouldn't be searching the realms for him. It seemed like an awful lot of work to change the laws of magic, and there were moments he couldn't help but wonder what the cost was going to be.

There was a time he himself had been young and innocent, and had looked upon a young lady with nothing but adoration in his eyes. He had spoken fondly of a young woman back in his long ago days of youth, much like this Alice spoke of her genie.

But unlike this genie, his youthful love had moved on from him. It was not an equally mutual love, not the way this girl talked about the love she shared with this mythical being. He'd closed his own heart off after that, and had sworn to never love anyone else again.

He had cared about Milah, but she was more a conquest that he'd grown fond of and accustom to having around. He had days he wondered when she'd leave him just as easily as she'd left her husband and son, but tried not to dwell on it.

Hook dismissed those thoughts from his mind, there was no point in getting sentimental. He'd entered a deal with Jafar and come hell or high water he'd have Milah back. He only hoped this other spy would find the blasted genie before much longer.

* * *

David wrapped the gauze around Cyrus' hand after applying some salve to stop the stinging from the burn, as well as disinfecting it. Much to his surprise, once he was one on one with the genie he'd found himself bombarded with questions.

The first question, despite Belle promising to explain it all later, was how he could have a daughter the same age as himself. He'd laughed over that one, knowing that had perplexed Cyrus greatly. If David admitted it to himself, even he had a hard time wrapping his head around it. There were moment he felt he'd fallen asleep in the nursery and woke up to find his baby girl was all grown up.

All in all, that wasn't too far off the truth. He had slept through the majority of the curse. He did wish he could get all those years back, he wished there was a way to go back and change the past so Regina would not have grown to be so bitter and filled with hate.

"I have one more question," Cyrus said as David set about putting the first aide supplies back in the cupboard.

"Ask away," he answered, leaning up against the wall.

"Why do you all have two names, with the exception of Emma and Henry? Does it not get confusing when you're talking to one another?" he asked.

"That's a long story, might be best left for another time. The short version is that Regina wanted to take away everyone's happy endings so she enacted a curse that sent us all here. Everyone, with the exception of her, took on different names and identities. Emma was born in the Enchanted Forest but we managed to send her here through a magical portal so she would be able to break the curse. I don't know how exactly she ended up pregnant with Henry or how he ended up being Regina's adopted son though. That likely isn't the most detailed explanation but it will have to do for now," he told Cyrus, who appeared satisfied with it.

They both made their way out of the washroom, although Cyrus held back just slightly. David stopped and turned to look at him. "A little shy are we?" he asked.

"Not really, but your wife is a little hostile. I've dealt with many different temperaments of people over many, many lifetimes but this is the first time I've had someone dislike me for absolutely no reason," Cyrus stated.

David frowned, that certainly wasn't one of her finer moments. "I'm going to have a talk to her about that, I'm really sorry she talked that way. Normally she's a very kind, accepting person but it would seem she never did get over the death of her father. It is a bit of a tale, but it was a freed genie who was tricked into murdering her father. She really shouldn't have taken her residual anger out on you."

"All wishes come at a cost, that wish seems to be the one with the worst consequence," Cyrus lamented as laughter erupted form the dining room.

David smiled sadly, he didn't know a lot about genies but it didn't seem like the greatest life to have. At least Cyrus was with good people, despite what the town thought of Rumpel, David knew there was good in him somewhere. If there wasn't, Belle would not still be seeing him. "Well, once she gets to know you better she'll see how foolish she's being. You know, I've been teaching Henry sword play, any chance you'd like to join in? I wouldn't mind getting to know you better."

Cyrus laughed, he actually enjoyed the fact people had a tendency to underestimate what he actually could do. He agreed to the idea easily, failing to mention he likely had forgotten more about sword play over the centuries than David would ever know.


	5. On Sword Fights and Stealing Wishes

Will sighed as he leaned back against the wall, silently urging the ship to stop rocking back and forth. The sound of the waves lapping up against the wood made him feel ill at ease, he really hated being this close to water.

He turned his attention to Alice, who was sleeping fitfully. They'd gotten into the habit of taking turns keeping watch as neither of them trusted anyone on the ship not to come in and steal something or try to kill them in their sleep. Will also wanted to be sure the wishes didn't suddenly turn up missing, although he doubted anyone else would know what they were. If Alice hadn't said what they were even he wouldn't have known they were wishes.

It was certainly the oddest thing he'd ever seen in his life. Wishes that were little jewels, he almost wondered if Cyrus hadn't done that on purpose. He grinned at the thought, he couldn't blame the genie if he'd been sweet on Alice from the start, she was a pretty girl. He really didn't think jewels would impress Alice, but then again he didn't know her quite well enough to know those sorts of things.

Most girls liked things that sparkled, he knew that from Anastasia. She had always loved anything that glittered and he was pretty sure that was the beginning of their downfall. They'd both always wanted more than the life they'd been born into, maybe if they hadn't strived for more than they needed she'd still be his. Robin had been right, he had gotten everything he deserved.

If he hadn't stolen the looking glass they'd never have travelled to Wonderland, the events never would have fallen into place giving her such a position of power. It went to her head so fast that he hadn't even seen it happen. Not that he was close enough to her to even observe.

He longed to use his promised wish to change the past, but Alice had told him it wasn't possible. Laws of magic and all that rubbish, which sounded like a bit of a cop out to him but he didn't know enough about magic to really argue the point. Heck, he'd thought genies were nothing but a myth until he'd been told about Cyrus. He might have grown up in the Enchanted Forest but he'd never opened a bottle to have someone pop out and offer him wishes.

Not that he wouldn't have minded some days, it would have helped on days he'd drank a little too much of something in some bottles he'd gotten his hands on. Magic was a confusing thing, he'd grown up knowing it existed but there seemed to be far too many types to keep track of. As far as Will was concerned it was just wiser to steer clear of anyone who could use magic, and possibly use it against you.

"Will?" Alice sleepily called, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He smiled warmly at her, wondering why she was awake. "Yeah?"

"Is it my turn to keep watch? You look like you could use some sleep," she observed, making to sit up when he rested a hand on her shoulder to push her back down.

"No, you only fell asleep maybe an hour ago. I'll be fine, you get some more sleep. I'll wake you when it is your turn to sit up and make sure no one comes in here and tries to kill me. I would hate for you to be without my witty repartee," he joked as she rolled her eyes to laid back down.

In truth, it was far past her turn to sit up, but he didn't want to sleep that night until he could no longer fend it off. Thoughts of Anastasia were prominent in his mind, and he would much rather let Alice sleep as long as possible. She'd hardly slept whilst they were in Wonderland, the least he could do was allow her to sleep as much as possible now.

* * *

Belle was rather enjoying her freedom, after spending just about the entirety of the curse locked away in the basement of the hospital thanks to Regina. Rumpel had told her about the Harvest Festival that was always held the last week of November and she'd jumped at the chance to attend. It was her first autumn outside of the captivity of that room and she was determined to enjoy every second of it.

What surprised her even more was he seemed fine with her suggestion that Cyrus attend with her. She'd half expected to fight him over that fact, but he'd simply explained it wouldn't be long before someone noticed him, or the Charmings would say something, so there was little point keeping him hidden away in the shop. She had a sinking suspicion it also had to do with the fact he didn't want the genie going through his things again if he became bored, but wasn't going to say anything.

It was a lovely, sun soaked late autumn afternoon, perfect to be out of doors and taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of the festival. It was being run by the fairies, or nuns as they were in Storybrooke, to raise money for some reason or other that had escaped Belle. It wasn't that she didn't care about charity, she was just a little more interested in everything else going on.

She felt like a little girl again, and was rather happy to have someone to share the experience with. Rumpel had been to the festival many times during the curse, so it wasn't new to him, but at least with Cyrus this was all new to both of them. She was especially in love with all the baked goods, ever since her first taste of pumpkin pie during the Thanksgiving dinner with the Charmings a few days prior she'd acquired quite a love for it.

"Slow down Belle, you're going to make yourself sick," Blue, formerly Mother Superior, said with a laugh.

Belle made a sad attempt to smile but failed miserably with her mouth full of a piece of pumpkin cupcake. Cyrus laughed softly, rather amused by her antics. He was rather fascinated with everything around him as well, but was slightly more reserved about it.

When she'd finally managed to swallow down her treat, Belle commented she likely should slow up on the sweets. "How is the fundraising going anyway?" she inquired.

"Quite well, it seems this year everyone is in a much more giving mood. Maybe it has to do with the curse being lifted, I really don't know," Blue explained, nudging a plate of sweets away from Belle's eager grasp.

"Oh come on, you're acting like I'm going to eat everything in sight," Belle pouted, making both Blue and Cyrus laugh.

"I think most parents do admonish their children and tell them to leave room for their supper when they are like this," Cyrus commented, earning himself a glare from Belle and an amused look from Blue.

"Something yours told you often?" Blue asked, trying to divide her attention between the conversation at hand as well as the table of baked goods some of the dwarves were starting to pick over.

Cyrus shook his head. "I would not know, I have no memory of ever having parents."

Blue looked at him oddly as she slapped away one dwarf from taking any of the cupcakes Belle had just been trying to deplete from the table. "Lucky you, if they were anything like her you'd likely have starved," Grumpy muttered giving the head fairy a look that could have possibly killed, if that were at all possible.

Cyrus grinned at that remark, he'd just met the dwarves earlier in the day and rather liked Grumpy. Yes he was a rather abrasive personality but he could tell he had a good heart underneath it all. Most everyone he'd met in the strange small town seemed rather pleasant, although for the last few moments he was once again feeling something or someone rather dark nearby. It wasn't as strong as the darkness he felt when he'd been held captive by Jafar, that man was completely consumed with immoral desires, but it was still hovering around the festival nonetheless.

"I see Rumpel let you out to play with your new friend," Regina drawled as she came around the corner, a smirk firmly planted on her face.

Belle frowned, she really didn't want her day ruined by that woman. "I can come and go as I please. I don't see what difference it makes to you," she answered, her voice taking a slightly sour tone.

Before anyone could speak again, they all noticed Henry a few paces behind Regina and fancied it best not to start a fight in front of him. It was a well known fact in town the boy was having trouble figuring out how he felt about her and was hoping she'd turned over a new leaf. Antagonizing her in front of him certainly would not help.

A bright smile lit up his face when he saw who his adoptive mother was talking to. "Are you guys having fun? I think this is the best Harvest Festival yet," he said.

"Well, I can't really compare it to any others but I am enjoying myself immensely," Belle answered, smiling warmly.

"I bet you've never seen anything like this in your life before," Henry commented, turning his attention to Cyrus.

"In all my travels I cannot say I've seen a festival quite like this," he told the young boy, leaving out he never was at a festival or celebration as it was so this was a first for him.

Regina looked at him curiously, still trying to figure him out. She knew everyone that had been brought over with the curse, and was positive he wasn't one of them. The first time she'd seen him he wasn't even in normal dress, at least not what was considered normal for Storybrooke. Rumpel had called him a house guest, but no one crossed the town line, not since that father and son when they'd first landed in this realm. It bothered her to no end she could not for the life of her figure out who this mysterious person was standing next to Belle.

"You'll have to forgive me, but I am certain you were not part of the curse," she blurted out, feeling that beating around the bush would get her nowhere. Sometimes it was just better to get straight to the point, no matter how blunt it was.

"No, I was not," he simply answered, offering no more information and seemingly wanting to move on to something a little more interesting than the conversation at hand.

Regina wasn't having any of that, she wanted to know. She could go about it in a sneaky way, but the idea of it just exhausted her. It could take weeks, why not find out while he is standing right in front of her. Besides, Henry might take her usual ways of gathering information of her reverting to her old ways. "So where exactly are you from, I know you're not from the Enchanted Forest."

Belle exchanged a look with him, they obviously didn't want to answer the question and she could not fathom why. Well, other than the obvious: no one trusted her. Thankfully she didn't have to pry it from them, for Henry happily answered the question. "His name is Cyrus, and he's a genie. A real one, you know, still has a bottle and all. We found out at Thanksgiving because the silver cutlery burned him," he offered.

Right then Cyrus longed to use his magic to render the child mute for a few passing moments, or even change the past few minutes. There was something not right at that moment, some sort of darkness lingered close by and he would have preferred that little bit of information have not been made public. He knew Jafar would be coming for him, and he also knew the sorcerer could have allies everywhere. Some might call him paranoid but he had no desire to be put back in that silver cage while the man waited for Alice to use her wishes. He had no idea how Jafar was going to use him to change magic, and he lacked any desire to find out in the near future.

He didn't miss how Regina's eyes lit up when Henry told her everything either. "An actual genie, well aren't you far from home. How did you end up in our quaint little town?" she inquired.

"I would rather not discuss this in the open, if you do not mind. I would also prefer the entire town not be made aware of who or what I am either," he firmly said.

Grumpy snorted. "Too late for that buddy. Happy can't shut his mouth and I can assure you he'll have that spread around town before night fall. And well, you can't trust a fairy to keep her mouth shut either," he explained, garnering a stern look from Blue and a few other fairies in the close vicinity.

Belle felt her heart drop by the stricken look on her friend's face. Maybe it would have been better to not have attended the silly festival after all. She turned to Cyrus and suggested they leave, to which he didn't argue.

Regina watched them walk away, and when they were out of ear shot turned to Henry. "I have a question for you," she stated.

He looked at her expectantly, a bit of worry in his eyes. "Were you given permission to share any of that?"

"Um, no," he stuttered, starting to shift about uneasily.

Regina crossed her arms over her chest, leveling him with a cold stare. "And what made you think you could blurt it out with everyone else around?"

"I don't know, you were asking and I thought I'd just answer," he offered up.

She sighed, of course she'd wanted to know who he was. There was nothing she hated more than not holding all the cards, but she also didn't like the fact her son obviously couldn't handle keeping someone's confidence. "Obviously letting you hang around Emma and the two idiots is teaching you bad habits," she said as she grabbed his hand and all but dragged him towards the parking area and her car.

She was pleased to know exactly who Cyrus was, and what he was, but she really didn't want to let Henry away with such antics either. She could revel in her new knowledge later.

* * *

Hook really was at a loss for what to do. How was he going to get Alice to make her last two wishes? He'd thought of tossing her overboard, but she could swim so that was completely pointless. Well, other than having the fun of tossing someone overboard, he always enjoyed that when the opportunity knocked.

It then occurred to him her friend, Will, wasn't fond of water. That thought had been crushed quickly when he realized she'd likely just jump in and fish him out. No, it had to be one extreme or the other: she had to slip up and use the word 'wish' or she had to feel desperate enough to make the wish. There was no other way of doing it.

The only trouble was how to get her to do it. The first one had been to save someone, and he was pretty sure she wouldn't use it to save anyone on the boat. Save for Will, but her friend was pretty resourceful so the chances of him being in a situation he couldn't fight or talk his way out of were slim. There really were only so many things you could get away with on a ship.

Hook had thought of dropping them off on shore, let them deal with that brat of a Peter Pan, but he didn't really want to leave them to the precarious whims of that demon child. He wanted her to use her wishes, he didn't want her dead.

There had to be some way of getting her to slip up. He noticed she never used the word wish, at all. Likely a habit she got into when she fell in love with this genie. His mind began to wander and he couldn't help wondering how hard it would be not use the wishes up quickly. Wasn't there something in her life that she wanted, something that could be made infinitely better by a simple wish? How did this girl manage to bypass the natural human desire to wish for something they didn't have?

"Captain?" a voice next to him called out, and he turned to see Smee walking over to him.

"What do you want?" he barked, annoyed to have been interrupted from his thoughts and solitude.

The shorter man was worrying his red cap in his hands, reminding Hook more of a misbehaving schoolboy then a pirate. "Honestly man, if you can't say what you want then why are you wasting my time?"

Smee exhaled slowly, and glanced over to where Alice and Will were looking out to sea. Alice was looking out to sea, Will was looking down at the deck with a slightly green pallor overtaking his skin tone. "I was thinking," he began to say.

Hook laughed. "Always a dangerous sport, but carry on."

"Well, you want the girl to use her wishes, but from what I've been hearing these aren't wishes she has to say. They're physical items, like little jewels. If you could steal the jewels, then why couldn't you use the wishes up yourself? The genie wouldn't know the difference as to who was making the wishes, it is just his lot to grant them no matter what. So long as they follow the laws of magic of course," Smee suggested.

Hook looked at the pair thoughtfully, that could work. Jafar said to get creative and he knew the laws of magic well. All magic came with a price, and all wishes had consequences. He just had to be very careful to make simple wishes, something that a girl might ask for.

"Even if the genie did know what was wished for, it wouldn't be his place to withhold the magic to grant the wish. He knows he is a servant to whoever holds his will. Excellent idea Smee! I knew I kept you around for a reason," Hook said, slapping Smee on the back with his hand.

Will glanced up at the two pirates, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. There was something going on, he just knew it. That Hook character was far too friendly with them, and had shown far too much interest in their predicament once he'd gotten even an inkling of information out of them. And Smee seemed even shadier than his captain.

"Alice, where do you keep the remaining two wishes?" he softly inquired, not taking his eyes off the two pirates.

"Where I've always kept them, why do you ask?"

"I don't want to talk about it here and now, but I think it might be a plan to hide them someplace else. There is something not right about this pirate, not that there ever is anything right about the sneaking lot, but if any of them overheard about the wishes I've a feeling they might be wanting to steal them," he told her, glancing over and giving her a friendly smile.

"Why would they want to steal them to use for themselves? It isn't as if they have the bottle so they can't be trying to catch themselves a genie," she stated.

The skies began to turn dark right then, and Will motioned for them to continue the conversation in their bunk. Alice shrugged and followed him down through the labyrinth of staircases to where they slept. Once inside he poked his head out to check the hall and then closed the door.

"I might be paranoid, but I have a bad feeling that Hook is in a deal with someone looking for a genie and yours will likely do as well as any other. I don't know how they're planning to actually get their hands on him without the bottle but I am sure I heard them talking about stealing your wishes, and that they appear like tiny jewels. I'm not saying that is what is going on, but I think you need to be careful and possibly find somewhere else to keep them," he explained, sitting next to her.

Alice frowned, wishes couldn't be stolen but she wasn't going to let anyone know that. This certainly was not a favourable turn of events. "Wonderful, our only allies to help us get to Storybrooke are also bent on stealing from us as well!"

"Firstly, they're pirates so that shouldn't come as such a surprise. Secondly, it is you they want to steal from, not me. I've got nothing but my charm that is of any value. Besides, you told me wishes can't be stolen, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't be on our guard." he told her, which only earned him a playful slap.

Alice rested her head in her hands, feeling completely defeated for the first time in awhile. Even when searching for Cyrus she hadn't felt this close to the end of her rope. "Why can't life ever be easy?" she moaned.

"I don't know, but I tell you one thing: I ever see that bloody white rabbit again I might be highly tempted to turn him into rabbit stew for landing us in this mess," Will declared, getting a slight laugh out of Alice.

"I might be tempted to help you out," she said.

* * *

Regina wasn't sure if she agreed with Charming teaching her son how to use a sword. It wasn't that Charming wasn't skilled with the weapon, she just felt he didn't need to know how to use one, unless they were returning to the Enchanted Forest and from what she'd heard there wasn't much to return to. Henry seemed to believe his life was going to be a living fairy tale adventure now that the curse was broken, and of course learning to use a sword came with it.

She was sat on the bleachers in the school gymnasium, having only agreed to this pointless lesson if it was held there. Henry didn't like her using magic for any purpose, healing included, so as a compromise she'd insisted it be somewhere with medical supplies and sadly Dr. Whale was highly against a sword lesson in the hospital. She thought he was being a bit of a killjoy in the matter but didn't bother pressing it any further. The school gymnasium would suffice and she supposed it would be easier in the long run to have both the annoyances in one building. You didn't have David without Mary Margaret. There were days Regina wondered if they could do anything without each other present.

She was rather bored with the lesson already, David was skilled with a sword but it was fairly run of the mill things a prince could do. She could predict his every move, but it seemed to work well for teaching Henry and no one was getting hurt so that was all that really mattered. Not that she wouldn't like to see someone get hurt, she was the Evil Queen after all and seeing a bit of injury inflicted on one of the two thorns in her side would make her day infinitely better.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming," David called, lowering his sword when Belle walked in with Cyrus.

Regina's head snapped around, wondering why they would be invited. Belle had many skills but to her knowledge wielding a sword wasn't one of them. If she could use one, it wouldn't be to the same level as David.

"Sorry we're a little late, Rumpel was going to drop us off but was tied up with something else, so we walked. I hope we didn't miss anything," Belle apologized as she and Cyrus took off their heavy coats and laid them on one of the lower benches in the bleachers.

Regina looked at them both slightly stunned. She'd become accustom to Belle's odd affection for blue dresses at times, but Cyrus was dressed in the same garb as when she'd first seen him, minus holding a blade to Rumpel's throat. "Is this a special occasion you had to dress up for?" she blurted out, laughter evident in her words.

"One should always be dressed in a way they are comfortable if they are going to be fighting, if possible," he explained as he walked over to David and Henry.

Belle sat next to Regina, not that she wanted to but felt it would be rude if she did not. She was keen to see how Cyrus would hold up next to David. He was rather known in the Enchanted Forest as a skilled swordsman, and from some of Cyrus' tales she had the feeling he was quite talented as well.

David went to hand Cyrus a wooden sword like he'd given Henry until he noticed he had his own. "Oh, I guess you've used a sword once or twice," he commented, setting the wooden one back on the floor.

"Well it isn't for decoration," Cyrus answered, drawing it when David told him to.

Henry dashed over to where Regina and Belle were seated, knowing this wasn't so much a lesson as just a way to determine the other's skill level. He also felt it best to stay away from Cyrus after his little slip up at the festival, he'd already received a tongue lashing from Regina, and even if David missed it he'd noticed fire in his dark eyes when he'd drawn his sword.

Something told him David had no idea what he was up against.

David had actually assumed the genie didn't really know how to use a sword, which was why he'd invited him to his lessons with Henry. From the short conversation they'd had alone he'd felt that it might be wise for him to have a skill that would help him defend himself from greedy people that could want him simply for what he could do for them.

What he hadn't expected was to be fighting someone who obviously knew far more than he could ever learn about using a sword in his short lifetime. At first he found Cyrus an effortless opponent, but quickly discovered the genie was being easy on him. The longer they sparred, the more winded he began to feel. The worst of it was he just could not predict what was coming next. And he certainly had not expected it to come to a conclusion with Cyrus holding his own sword simultaneously with the genie's, one positioned by his throat and the other over his heart.

"Now that was entertaining! If we ever do go back to the Enchanted Forest I'm hiring him to train my guards," Regina laughed, clearly impressed.

Before David could say anything they heard the familiar clicking of shoes and Regina suppressed a groan. It would have to be Mary Margaret, it was as if the woman just knew when David might be in trouble. Not that he was in any danger at that moment, but Regina knew she'd misinterpret the scene before her.

"Oh my gosh, David! What's going on?" she gasped as she rushed over. "I told you we can't trust him."

"Calm down," David soothed as Cyrus lowered the swords he was holding. Right then David noticed the anger flickering in Cyrus' eyes and thought it might be best to defuse the situation before it became any worse. "It was just some practice, that's all."

Mary Margaret huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "That didn't look much like practice to me, how do I know he wasn't going to kill you?" she demanded.

Before anyone could say a word the clatter of the swords hitting the wood floor rang through the room. Belle's eyes went wide when she saw Cyrus walk over to Mary Margaret; this was not the quiet young man she'd been getting to know. He was furious, not that she could blame him, and it was right then she was rather glad to know his magic was not something he could use at will.

"If I had wanted to kill him, he would be dead," Cyrus hissed, anger dripping from every word. "I may not be able to kill anyone through wishes or magic, but if I so desired I could have ran him through. As you see, he is still very much alive and as he told you, this was just practice. I am sorry that your father was murdered by one of my kind, but you must remember that genie was free. I am not, you have been told at least once I am always at the mercy of whatever master I have, therefore I am of no threat to you, nor shall I ever be. All wishes come with a cost and that is one wish I warn all my masters away from. The cost is far too high, and although I desire freedom I would not have other's pay dearly for it."

"Unless someone wishes it, then you could be a very real threat," she argued, her tone slightly defeated. She hadn't been expecting whom she had assumed was shy and reserved to have an outburst like that.

"The consequences of wishes are not my fault. I merely grant them, I cannot control them. All wishes have a far reaching affect that I cannot predict, other than the one for wishing a genie free. As I stated, that one only ends in tragedy for all concerned. So I would advise you to let go of this anger, I am not the one who caused the death of your father. As I already said, and it seems to need repeating for you, all wishes come with a cost and that one has the highest price to be paid to all involved," he snapped.

David looked from his wife, to Cyrus, wondering if he should step in. Mary Margaret seemed to have come down a little, whilst Cyrus had completely calmed down after his outburst. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Regina rocking back and forth with laughter. He really could not discern what was so funny about the whole situation, and asked her.

"It's nothing really, all this talk about wishes had me wondering if he'd have the power to give you two a less co-dependent personality," she jested.

Mary Margaret gave her a dirty look, and then turned her attention back to Cyrus. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have acted this way towards you when you haven't done anything to deserve it. I hope you can forgive me," she apologized, smiling slightly and extending a hand.

Cyrus looked at her cautiously for a few moments, he could tell her words were sincere but it still didn't change the fact she had accused him of trying to murder her husband. "I accept your apology, but I would appreciate if you are going to take any of that anger out on someone to go find the one responsible for your father's death."

"Well, now that the touchy feely stuff is out of the way I thought someone was teaching my son how to use a sword? And all offense meant David, I think Cyrus might be better suited to the job," Regina quipped.

"I can't argue with that, I actually think I wouldn't mind learning a thing or two from you, if you don't mind," he agreed with a bit of a laugh.

Cyrus smiled. "Of course, I can teach you both if you so desire."

"This is so cool!" Henry exclaimed as he jumped up and ran for the wooden sword. This was slowly turning into the greatest day of his life, other than getting into trouble over his outburst at the festival and the fact he still had to apologize for it. But he could think about that later.

Or at least he thought he could think about it later. "Henry, I believe you have something to say to Cyrus as well," Regina said in a tone he knew meant he wasn't getting out of it.

He sighed and turned towards the genie with the look of a condemned man about him. Henry really hated doing this, why hadn't he just kept his mouth shut? "I'm sorry about earlier, it was wrong of me to just blurt out with all those people around what I knew about you when you didn't seem to want to discuss it," he muttered, kicking at the floor with his right foot.

"I accept your apology as well, children sometimes speak before they think. But I would advise you to work on that as it is not an admirable quality," Cyrus assented.

Henry grinned, glad that was out of the way. Now he could get to the fun part of the day. He'd always wanted to learn how to fight with a sword and could hardly believe he was going to learn from someone who knew more than his grandfather.

* * *

Rumpel always found it hard to sleep at night, he wasn't sure why but it had always been that way. Instead of sleeping he'd find himself tossing in bed until he finally would just give in and get out of bed to go find something useful to do.

In the Enchanted Forest that normally meant causing some sort of trouble or other after Bae had left, in Storybrooke he had to behave. Not only because it was a smaller place and he couldn't leave, but he'd promised Belle. He'd do almost anything for her, and if she swore there was good in him he'd try his best to figure out where it was and bring it out.

It had only been over the past week he'd really felt more like the man she thought he could be than ever before. They'd started to fall into a strange little familiar routine together, all three of them. There was a moment over the evening hours just past, as Belle recounted how Cyrus had disarmed Charming about five times before he'd figured out how to block him, that he'd started to wonder if this was how being a family felt. He'd never really had that with Milah and Bae, but he was starting to enjoy the quiet evenings with Belle and Cyrus, just talking or sitting quietly with the radio on as they each read a book. It was a nice feeling, and it was one he wasn't willing to give up in the near future, even if he was still intent on finding Bae.

With those thoughts in his mind, he made his way to the kitchen to make a cup of tea to go with reading his book. It wasn't the most interesting book he'd ever laid eyes on, which could be attested to by the fact he couldn't even recall what it was called, but it filled the hours. For the first month or two after the curse was broken, he had spent many of the nights sitting with Belle, as she had suffered with nightmares of her time locked away in both the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke. They had slowly tapered off as the weeks drew on, so he no longer was needed as someone to talk to and keep watch through the overnight hours.

Or so he thought. Just as he was pouring the boiling water into the teapot he heard a small gasp. At first he thought nothing of it, until he heard it again and figured it would be cruel to not make sure it wasn't Belle in the throes of a nightmare.

He set the kettle aside and made his way to the room she slept in, pushing the door open quietly to discover she was in a sound sleep. "Must've been my imagination," he muttered, closing her door to only hear the sound again.

It was then he remembered the other person sleeping under his roof. He went to the only spare room left and pushed the door open to find it was Cyrus in the middle of a nightmare.

This was something he really was loathed to deal with, despite his amiable feelings towards the genie for the most part. Rumpel didn't trust magic that wasn't his own. He had a well known distrust of the fairies, Regina didn't worry him since he was the one who taught her. There wasn't much she could throw at him that he couldn't counteract with ease. A genie was a whole other story, he'd never really dealt with one before so their magic was a mystery to him.

Belle in the throes of a nightmare he could understand, he'd been a mortal at one time and could understand the fears that came with it. A genie on the other hand was immortal, and although Rumpel now numbered with that class he still could not fathom how to deal with the nightmares of this particular type of immortal and magical being.

His thoughts were broken when he heard a slight moan and realized he likely should wake the young man up, instead of leaving him to suffer with whatever images were haunting him in his sleep. "I knew I should have insisted he stayed in that bottle overnight," he grumbled, walking over and grabbing Cyrus by the shoulder and giving him a shake.

It was two seconds too late that Rumpel realized that likely wasn't the best way to wake anyone up, and after Belle telling him about Cyrus' quick reflexes in fighting earlier that day he likely should have known better. Before he could even speak he found himself colliding with the wall as the genie threw him off quite forcefully.

"Well it is lovely to see you're awake, dearie," he grumbled, picking himself up and looking over at the person sitting up in the bed.

He was well aware Cyrus was likely far older then even he was, but looking at the genie right then all he could see was a frightened boy. His eyes were wide with some unseen terror, likely what was still lingering in his mind's eye from his nightmare. Rumpel knew the whole town thought him heartless, but that was anything but true. If he were, he would have left Cyrus to his nightmares, or he would have just stood up and left the room right then and there.

Instead he walked over to the bed and pulled a chair up alongside. He waited quietly as Cyrus started to wake up and become more aware of everything around him, then he spoke. "You know, sometimes it can give the dreams less power if you talk about them."

Cyrus looked over at him, and seemed to blush a little. "It is nothing to be embarrassed about dearie, we all have nightmares. Belle had them for a time after the curse was broken, I've had them before in the past as well. It is just a natural part of life. I don't know what happened to you in Wonderland, but if you need to talk I'm always around to listen."

Rumpel wasn't really expecting anything else to happen, so he was rather surprised when Cyrus did begin to talk. He sat and listened as the genie told him about his time in Wonderland in the company of Jafar and the Red Queen. The tale was far from a pleasant one and Rumpel wasn't overly surprised Cyrus was having nightmares. He'd been kept locked up for a spell himself, and it wasn't an experience he longed to repeat. There was no worse feeling then that of being powerless.

He smiled sadly to himself, no wonder the three of them seemed to have found one another, they all knew what it was like to be trapped, either in the literal sense or through society's perception of who they should be. It made him wonder if that wish had sent his bottle to a place where Belle would find it on purpose.

"I hope one day we get to meet this Alice of yours," he said when Cyrus finished his tale. Cyrus looked at him questioningly, making Rumpel chuckle. "I've never met anyone, aside from Belle of course, who wouldn't be tempted to use magic for their own good. She refused to use her wishes not only out of love but I would hazard to guess she also knew how it felt to be at the mercy of other's and wanted you to experience freedom just as badly as she wanted it for herself."

Cyrus smiled and said nothing, as there wasn't much more to say. Maybe Rumpelstiltskin wasn't such a hard person to talk to after all. He certainly made sure no one wanted to approach him, but the good in him was more than obvious even though most chose to ignore it. Cyrus wondered what had made him into the man he was, he'd lived many lifetimes and could never understand how a race that lived for such a short time could experience enough hardship to turn their personalities so drastically.

His eyes went wide when Rumpel produced a steaming cup of tea on the bedside table. "Was in the process of making a cup of tea when I heard you, I'm sure that one is strong enough to stand on now so figured I'd just use some magic to create one," he explained.

"Your magic works that way?" he asked, slightly surprised.

Rumpel looked at him oddly. "I don't always use my magic to wreck havoc upon the world, sometimes I just like to use it for the basic comforts in life. Does your magic not work the same?"

Cyrus shook his head. "No, if I tried that I'd more than likely end up wearing the cup of tea. My magic is solely for the service of my masters, not for myself. I have tried to use it on occasion for protection, but it normally would backfire on me," he explained.

"For someone who spends their life pretty well at the mercy of other's it would have made sense for you to have some magic for your own use and protection," Rumpel muttered, waving his hand over the bedside table and producing another mug, an action that earned him a curious look from Cyrus. "I once had a son who had trouble sleeping in the night and I would sit with him until he fell asleep and long after. One thing he used to like was a warm cup of cocoa, have you ever had it?"

Cyrus shook his head, he'd never heard of it. "Well give it a try. I'll sit with you until you fall asleep, and even afterwards to make sure the nightmares stay away."

"You don't have to..." Cyrus began to argue before Rumpel cut him off.

"It wasn't an offer dearie, I'm going to do it whether you like it or not. I did this for Bae as a child, I did it for Belle after the curse was broken and it would seem someone else has arrived who needs someone to watch over them while they sleep. Don't make a big deal out of it, we all need help at some point, no matter how much we hate to admit it," he said as Cyrus took the mug and began to sip the warm drink within.

A few moments later he felt his eyelids grow heavy as Rumpel sat there drinking his tea and reading a book. The man would glance over at him from time to time, but sleep was calling and he didn't feel like fighting it off. He was now beginning to understand what Alice's wish must've been. She wished him to land somewhere safe. He could always take care of himself, but sometimes it was nice to have other people around willing to help you.

He sighed as sleep finally overtook him, he certainly felt safe in the company of Belle and Rumpel. He only hoped it would last and this wish didn't have a string attached waiting to break.

_AN: Okay, so all caught up with where it is posted on another site. I meant to do this over the week end but then Christmasy type things started to take over._

_A few notes...I'm not a huge fan of Snow/Mary Margaret, I find her a bit insufferable but I wanted to have the Charmings as they are basically the entire show (although I'd love to see the Wonderland characters on the main show next year if possible, as I have heard that could happen), so maybe I'm writing her up the way I view her but then isn't that what fanfiction is? How we view the characters. I'm also not keen on Hook either, but he somehow got his way into the story as I didn't really want Alice and Will to show up in Storybrooke too soon, and Jafar needed allies. The Red Queen really didn't fit the bill for this story, although after this one is done I may have another idea that uses her._

_Which brings me to Cyrus. There really hasn't been much character development on him, as of yet, and I'm sure my theories on genie magic are going to get tossed out the window before long. The bit about how his magic will backfire if he uses it for himself is actually borrowed from the movie 'The Slipper & The Rose' (it is a brilliant movie, if you can find the British cut of it I highly recommend it). In it the fairy godmother states at one point her magic is solely for granting wishes, if she uses it for herself it backfires (and she proves this trying to make a pot of tea). As well with him, I've read an interview or two with the cast and the only inkling I can get is the actor said that despite his long life and calm nature, the relationship with Alice rather puts him into a second adolescence, so I'm trying to bring that into play. He isn't overly sure of things now, as his whole world is flipped. He's spent countless lifetimes serving others and now he suddenly can make his own choices, so I am trying to work that in._

_Either way, I hope it is enjoyable and I will be back Thursday with the next chapter. And sorry the author note is so long._


	6. Memories, Doubts and Shadows

**_~Alice's England~_**

_She grasped some straggling plants and pulled herself up out of the rabbit home, her face streaked with tears as she attempted to pull herself together. In her hand she still held tight her three wishes, every so often she'd glance down and see them glitter in the fading light of day of her home, a sad reminder of everything she'd left behind. Although there was nothing left for her there, now that it had been destroyed before her very eyes._

**_I can't change the past._**

_His words rang in her ears, a terrible reminder of how unfair life was. She wanted the past changed so badly, she wanted everything to be different. If her mother hadn't died maybe she'd have a happy home life, with the love of both parents like other children. Instead of having a father who never truly looked at her, only glanced her way every now and again only to look away with a pained expression on his time worn face. He never saw his daughter, he only saw his wife who had left him too soon. If only the past had evolved differently, if only she could have wished it to change._

_But if her mother had lived and her family life had been happier, would she have still found her way to Wonderland? If she had, on her return would her mother have believed her fanciful tales, or would she have taken the side of her husband and reasoned her daughter was crazy as well? If that had happened, would she have returned time and again to find proof for both her doubting parents that she wasn't lying, only to have her path cross with Cyrus?_

_A strangled cry escaped her lips as she crumpled to the ground in a sobbing heap. If she hadn't have come across him maybe he'd still be alive, still safely hidden in his bottle under the hedge. It wasn't much of a life, she gathered, but at least he'd be alive. Even though she assured herself in that, she knew Jafar would have located him eventually and she couldn't stand the idea of him being under that sorcerer's control. Maybe this was a kinder fate._

_She felt the tears start to stream down her face once more, it was possible that death was a kinder fate for him, an escape from whatever wicked things Jafar and the Red Queen had planned for him, but it was a terrible one for her. Now she had to live the rest of her life alone and unloved. It was almost ironic really, Cyrus was the one who thought he'd find himself alone again one day, as she was mortal and he was not, but it was her who was now destined to spend the rest of her days alone. Yes she would have her father, but he was poor company when he was still longing for someone he would not see again in this life._

_Alice was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't hear the footsteps coming down the garden path. If she had she might have wiped the tears from her face, and she may well have straightened her clothing and brushed some of the dirt off. But she hadn't heard and she didn't care, Cyrus was dead and she was alone once more._

_Alone, always alone. Was that to be her fate? To find someone only to end up alone again? It wasn't fair, what had either of them done to deserve this? What horrid crime had they committed to deserve to be unloved and suffer a life of loneliness? Why had fate teased them both with such a brief taste of feeling as if they belonged somewhere, only to tear it all apart in a split second?_

_"Alice?" a voice behind her asked, the man's voice tinged with shock and disbelief._

_She turned her green eyes from the ground upwards to see the aged face of her father. His expression was a mixture of confusion and exhaustion. She wasn't sure how long she'd been gone this time, as the passage of time was not unilateral between England and Wonderland. The seemingly endless time spent with Cyrus could have been merely a day here, or it could have been years, there really was no way to guess how it would work._

_Although by the look on his face she had a feeling it had been quite a bit of time. "Alice, what is the matter?" he asked, kneeling down next to her. For once he actually sounded genuinely concerned about her distress. She dared to hope this time he might actually listen and offer her comfort in her grief. He had lost the love of his life, surely he could sympathise with her, it wasn't asking too much._

_She choked back another sob, trying to pull herself together as best she could and failing miserably. "Is this how it feels?" she softly inquired, her eyes imploring him to just believe her story this time and offer her comfort._

_"How what feels?" he returned as he crouched down next to her, a hint of trepidation in his voice. She could hear it; it was the same way he spoke to her whenever Wonderland came into any conversation. She heard it, but didn't care. She needed someone, anyone, to tell her this pain would end and she would move on with her life, with Cyrus left as a fond memory someday, and not a gaping wound on her heart._

_"Is this how it feels to lose someone you love?" she asked again._

_"Alice darling, you've been missing for a few months, there is no way you've fallen in love and lost someone in that amount of time," he chided, grasping her hands as he began to stand back up, in an effort to help her to her feet._

_She pulled her hands away from his, her eyes flashing with anger. Of course, she should have known he would talk to her as if she had no clue what it meant to love someone this deeply. "Do not talk down to me, I was in love. I am in love, Cyrus was everything to me and now he is gone! Does the pain ever end, tell me, does it?" she pleaded as her voice became frantic._

_"Who is Cyrus?" he questioned, already dreading the answer. It would be yet another one of her tall tales, but a small part of him hoped this was some chap she'd met in reality and not her imagined world. He could deal with this Cyrus if he was real, maybe he had just walked away from her and she was treating it in a very dramatic manner. Hopefully he was real and of this earth, he was tired of trying to deal with this imaginary world she had created._

_"He's a genie I met, we fell in love and had so many wonderful adventures," she explained, about to say more but her voice faltered and the words faded on her lips when she saw the look in her father's eyes._

_It was the same look he'd had upon her first return from Wonderland. Why couldn't he just believe her for once? Why did he always have to disagree, what was so wrong with just taking her word for a change? She wondered at times if it would kill him to just listen to her for once instead of instantly denouncing every word she even dared to utter._

_Right then something in her shattered, everything she loved was gone and any hope she had of a father to help her through her grief melted away. All she had left were the memories of the time they'd spent together, and the glittering wishes clutched in her hand, twinkling uselessly in the dying light of day. Wishes that were completely useless without a genie to grant them._

_Cyrus was dead, and on the inside so was she._

* * *

_The days melted into weeks which eventually turned to months. They didn't mean much to Alice as she went through the paces of day to day life back in England. She felt as though she was living in a strange dream of faded colours, in which the season changed but she never did. People around her moved on with their lives, but nothing changed for her. The ache inside would dull for a short time, but then flashes of what had happened at the Boiling Sea would rush through her mind and she'd be drowning in the agony of loss all over again._

_She had no one to talk to, her father wouldn't listen to her, nor would any of the extended family. She was well aware they all talked about her as though she was crazy._

_Some of them looked at her with pitying gazes, fancying she was going insane. A few of her cousins made fun of her for thinking she'd been in love with a genie of all fanciful creatures. They would find books with illustrations depicting genies, and of course that would give them more ammunition to bother her with. None of the drawings looked like Cyrus._

_That gave her the idea, one dreary rain soaked afternoon to draw him. Or what she could remember. As the pencil lines slowly began to transform into the face she remembered, with his bright smile, eyes twinkling with curiosity and the hair that curled around his face that she loved so much, for a moment she felt content. It was proof, other than the wishes, that he had existed, that he had been real._

_Feeling bold, she showed the drawing to her father and the gathered family, for what reason they were all there she didn't know. It could have been some holiday, but nothing really meant anything to her these days. She had been rather proud of what she'd made, it was proof that Cyrus had been real and she'd not imagined him. Surely her father and the rest would believe her now._

_And like always, her father took the drawing and spoke of it like he would the scribbling of a small child. Her cousins laughed and told her genies don't look like that. In a fit of anger she'd yelled that they were all fools, she'd drawn him as she chose to remember him, not her last image of him falling to his death. Her father just nodded and handed her drawing back. Whatever he said was lost to her as she began to realize there was absolutely nothing she could do to ever convince her father that Wonderland was a real place and Cyrus had actually lived._

_After that, her father and the rest of the extended family simply ignored her, and if they did find themselves forced into a situation where they had to interact with her they treated her as though she were a small child or someone on the verge of losing their mind._

_Alice really didn't care anymore, nothing really mattered now. No one believed her, no one treated her like she was a person. She was nothing more now than a shadow that moved about the house, lost in her memories and pain. If only someone would lend her a sympathetic ear, she was certain she could move forward with the shock of watching her love fall to his death, if only someone would listen to her._

_But that was not to be. She eventually found herself in an asylum, not that it made a difference in her day to day life. She still felt as though she was not really in the world and no one believed her when she spoke. It was the same experiences, just in a different setting. People would ask her what her tale was, and after she related it they'd either laugh or look at her in the same way her father always did._

_Her father stopped coming to see her after the first month, at least she was certain it had been a month, she had no way to distinguish how much time had passed. She didn't care anymore, she simply wanted to forget. And she'd come so close, that was until the Knave of Hearts waltzed into her drab room and gave her hope again._

_Cyrus was alive; all they had to do was find him._

_She should have remembered nothing was impossible in Wonderland._

* * *

Alice shook the thoughts from her mind. That life was over with now. She was never going back to England, and even if she wanted to she wasn't even sure how it could be accomplished without the White Rabbit. Her path was now taking her towards a strange little town called Storybrooke, at least for now. She was going to find Cyrus again, but a small part of her felt she did need to take a little time to regroup.

If only they could get to their desired destination, she couldn't figure out why the pirate was taking so long to get there. He seemed rather bent on it when they first met him, but suddenly he was dragging his heels for some reason or other she could not figure out. She did have a sinking suspicion the wishes played a part in the sudden dallying, but really couldn't figure out what he wanted them for. She wasn't even sure if they could be granted if Cyrus was in a different realm, he had explained magic to her but she had no recollection if it could cross the boundaries of one realm to another.

Maybe if it was a very powerful magic, she'd heard some talk about a Dark Curse that had taken many inhabitants of somewhere called the Enchanted Forest to a land without magic, but Cyrus' magic wasn't exactly that powerful. He'd told her of some of the wishes he'd granted over the centuries, and there was no question there was little he could not do outside of the four rules of magic, but she didn't think it would cross from one realm to another just to give someone a cupcake.

Although she doubted the pirate would use the wishes for that, if they managed to steal them. It didn't really matter, he obviously knew little of wishes and how they worked. If he wanted to steal the little jewels he was welcome to try and meet the sharp edge of her blade, but he would be unable to use them even if he did succeed. Wishes couldn't be stolen and there was very little that would sway her into giving them away to the bunch on this ship.

Her musings were cut short when Hook came up beside her and tried to engage her in conversation. She had little desire to trade pleasantries with him, the only topic she had on the tip of her tongue was when they would be off to Storybrooke. She was tired of being at sea, she wanted a respite from the seemingly endless journey. Jafar and the Red Queen were behind her, another search for Cyrus was ahead but she just longed for a short time to rest.

She was only half listening to Hook as he babbled on; that was until she heard him ask her a question about genies. She knew she'd mentioned Cyrus by name, but had never said exactly what he was. "Aren't genies something from fairy tales?" she inquired, trying to discern what he wanted. Will had told her the inhabitants on the ship had seemingly taken a sudden interest in genies, and this was solid proof. She wondered if he'd slip up and tell her that he knew exactly what Cyrus was, and even better if he let her know exactly how he'd come by that information. She knew she could trust Will to say nothing, but pirates had ways of getting information when they wanted it.

"Aye, that is what I'm told. I was just thinking about some tales I've heard over the years. You know we make port in many wonderful places and once I met a man who spoke of genies and how powerful they are. I am never one to pass up knowledge, so I asked him more. The strangest thing he told me is he's heard tell of a genie unlike any other. I, of course, fancied he meant this genie was the most powerful one in existence but that was not what he meant. This was a strange genie indeed, one who actually shows human emotions," he explained, observing his hook as he dug into the wood on the ship.

Alice shrugged, saying she'd never seen one in her life while she wondered where this was going. What was so strange about anyone, human or genie, showing any form of emotion? "Ah, I fancied a lass as smart as you and so well traveled may have heard tell of this as well. It seems not all genies just spring into existence, some actually were humans with family and friends, but were so wicked that they were cursed to be slaves to the whims of men for all eternity. Rather interesting, is it not?" he asked.

She dearly hoped the shock at this revelation did not show in her face, that was something she didn't know. Cyrus had never told her that little fact, either because he had no clue or he did not wish to disclose that information to her. "It seems rather silly to curse someone that evil in such a way, wouldn't it just make them bitter and scheme to escape?" she inquired, trying to keep her voice as disinterested as possible.

Hook grinned; he had her eating out of the palm of his hand. The little bit of information Jafar had given him was actually turning out to be useful, even if he was twisting it a little here and there for his own purpose. Of course, he had no idea if this Cyrus had once been a wicked person or had sprung into existence as a genie, but it didn't hurt to put some doubt in the girl's head about the love of her life. If she became slightly off balanced about it she may very well mess up and use her wishes or leave them unguarded. "It does, I know if someone stuck me a bottle for all eternity I'd be doing everything possible to get back out of it. The thing is, they don't remember anything. Who they were before is forgotten, and they're pretty much void of any human emotion. The man said if they are exhibiting anything like that they're just trying to use their master to gain their freedom."

Alice felt her heart drop a bit, but she didn't want to believe what the pirate was telling her. Everything her and Cyrus had could not be a lie. This Captain Hook was only saying these things to make her doubt her resolve, and she would not allow that. Cyrus had told her she could not wish him free, as it would come at a cost. It was the one wish, if it ever did come up in conversation he was quite adamantly against to an almost passionate level.

But maybe the cost was to her, not him. He'd never elaborated, only said it had been attempted before with poor results. Was it possible he'd convinced some of his past masters to wish him free, only to have been caught and returned back to the life of a genie? Maybe that is how he had been wished free before, by insisting it could not be done which in turn only strengthened his master's resolve to make the wish. He'd lived many lifetimes, he would certainly know how to play on people's emotions.

"I think that is a fanciful tale you've just told me, I thank you for the diversion but I really must be going to see what trouble Will may have gotten himself into," she said in a short tone, hurrying off below deck to find her friend. Even if Will had set some doubt in her mind once before over the relationship she shared with Cyrus, she knew he'd have a clearer mind right now. Even with the constant sound of the waves.

Hook smirked and sauntered toward the captain's quarters. He was rather proud of himself in all honesty, he'd put some doubt in her head. That was all he really needed to do, he was confident that he knew the way women worked. She would take care of the rest all on her own and soon she'd use up her wishes, or he'd have them in his possession. Jafar would finally have this genie and he'd at long last have his Milah back from the beyond.

He always kept his eye on the prize, no matter who had to be stepped on along the way.

* * *

Grumpy was loathed to admit it, but he actually liked magic. He wasn't a huge fan of fairies anymore, not after everything with Nova. He still liked her, but it was more than obvious nothing was ever going to come of it, at least not so long as Blue still ruled the fairies with an iron wand. Snow and Charming went on and on about happy endings but not everyone got to have them, no matter if they were from the Enchanted Forest or not.

He did hope the person across from him got one though, even if it was for a short time. Cyrus was showing him and few other people gathered around origami, and with magic paper which made it all the more entertaining. He could tell the genie was still pretty upset that the entire town knew who and what he was, but was making an attempt to deal with it. He assured his new friend he really had nothing to worry about, it was a town of fairy tale people and they had all seen many strange and amazing things. There was a genie living in their midst as it was, without his powers but a former genie none the less. But he supposed Cyrus was likely accustomed to worrying about the human race and what some could do to him, he had likely seen both extremes of it through his travels.

Although Grumpy was pretty sure no one was going to get too close to Cyrus without some trouble, if they wanted to use him poorly. He did have Rumpel for a friend, and even though he was loathed to admit it out loud, he wouldn't let anyone near the genie either without a fight. He might not be as skilled as some with a sword or even magic, but he did have his pick axe and he was pretty sure he could land a few good hits with it. There was nothing stronger than one of their pick axes; at least that is what the stories said.

He'd heard Cyrus was skilled with a sword, since Charming spent a good hour talking about how he'd been unarmed before he knew what had happened, but there was always strength in numbers. Cyrus hadn't said much, but Grumpy could tell there was someone powerful after him and that powerful someone would have to get through a certain dwarf first, as well as the Dark One and he could tell by a few stories Cyrus had told the genie wasn't an easy person to catch and keep hold of. Without the use of silver that is.

"Where did you learn that anyway?" Ruby asked, watching with rapt eyes as she leaned up against the counter.

Cyrus grinned as he set the paper down. "I've had many masters, you learn a few tricks here and there when you have some willing to teach you."

"You really do have the short end of the stick," Grumpy blurted out before he could stop himself.

The smile faded slightly from the genie's face at the comment, as he reached out and tapped the paper. The bird took flight and flew over to one of the children sat close by, much to the little girl's delight. She picked it up to show her father, who merely muttered something about how much he hated Wonderland, to the amusement of all in earshot.

"Sorry, I don't know when to shut my mouth sometimes," Grumpy apologized.

Cyrus just shrugged, he couldn't argue with the comment. "We all have different roles in the world, you dig in the depths of the earth for glittering treasures that many covet and I am a servant to the whims of man. Some have more fortune than others, but there is nothing we can do to change it. Enjoy what we have, and be grateful for what we are given."

"Well, there is the option to find a genie and wish for something more or better than what you have right now," Ruby commented right when Granny snapped at her to pay attention to the people coming in to order food.

"There is that," Cyrus muttered in a wistful tone, pulling at the cuff of his sweater. "But all wishes come with strings attached."

Grumpy frowned, that was the one thing he didn't like about magic. It was never simple; there was always room for something to go wrong. "So, you've always been a genie? Weren't you a regular person at one point in time?"

"No, I don't think I was. All I've ever known is this life. I've spent countless lifetimes going from one master to another, granting their wishes and forgotten when they had all they could desire. In all honesty it always gave me a very bleak opinion of the human race. A few masters were good, but so many were horrible people. Always wanting what they did not have, wishing for riches and the status they craved and never seeing they had everything they could ever wish for right before their eyes," he explained, amusement twinkling in his eyes as the little girl started to pester her father for tales of this place called Wonderland. He was starting to figure out who the man was, and wondered why Alice called him mad.

Grumpy wasn't sure he understood what was meant by all that, normally if you think you want something you obviously didn't have it. That was the point to wishing. "What do you mean by that? If they wished for all that they obviously thought they didn't have everything."

"They had family that loved them. So many of the men who found my bottle, and it was normally men, had a wife who loved them and children who adored them yet they were too obsessed with what other's had which they did not possess. I've seen many wishes go wrong, even the simplest can turn sour," he said, turning his attention from the father and daughter, his eyes seeming to take on a distant look as he thought back over his many years.

"I never thought of it that way, I guess you've seen a lot then. It is just strange to look at you and think you've lived longer than anyone in this town," Grumpy told him with a bit of a chuckle. "The Dark One included."

Cyrus grinned sadly. "More lifetimes than I can count, but at least you have people to belong to. Alice was the first person to find my bottle, or more literally walk into it, that didn't make her wishes and move on. She actually made me feel like I belonged somewhere, and I have a feeling I made her feel the same way. I hope we manage to find each other again one day soon."

"I'm sure you will, people who are meant to be together have this weird talent for finding each other again. Trust me, you're living in a town full of that kind of thing. Anyway, I have to get to work, did you want me to walk you to the library? Belle wouldn't be impressed if I let you get lost," Grumpy commented, to which Cyrus nodded. He had a fair idea of how to get around in the town but would prefer not to get lost.

There was still something off about the town, darkness settling in that he couldn't place or pinpoint. Of course he could feel it when he was around Rumpel, but he knew he had nothing to worry about in that case. This other darkness though, he couldn't help his concern. It hadn't been that long he'd been wished away from Jafar and he wasn't overly keen on meeting up with the sorcerer again in the near future, or finding himself locked in that silver cage again.

Grumpy paid the bill and Cyrus followed him out of the little diner. The air outside had gone from a brisk cold to a biting chill, the leaves had all fallen from the trees and had mostly been blown away by the cold winds of the winter that was settling in.

Neither talked as they made their way to the library, although Grumpy kept turning to make sure he hadn't lost Cyrus along the way. He was fairly certain that wouldn't happen, as the town was small and pretty easy to navigate, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. He'd actually decided he didn't need to keep turning to make sure his friend hadn't wandered off when he heard the man behind him stop dead in his tracks.

Grumpy glanced around, wondering what could have caused the hold up, but saw nothing in the open. He turned to look at Cyrus, who was gazing towards a dark alley, his eyes wide with what the dwarf would define as fear. It seemed strange to see him with such an expression, he'd been around the genie quite a bit since meeting him and had seen him with every emotion except fear, so whatever he saw or thought he saw obviously was of major concern.

"No, please no," Cyrus whispered, edging towards the dwarf slowly. Grumpy looked towards the alley but saw nothing. Not simply because it was draped in darkness and shadows due to the position of the sun at that time of day, but also because he actually could see nothing, and he certainly could not hear one sound coming from the alley. But obviously Cyrus saw or heard something, and it had him spooked.

He recalled Belle mentioning that Cyrus had been suffering with nightmares, he'd had one early that morning that had even woken her from her sleep in another room, his cries were that loud and frantic. Obviously whatever had happened in Wonderland wasn't leaving him, and now he thought he was seeing the shadows from his dreams in his waking hours.

Grumpy reached out and touched Cyrus lightly on the arm, only to have him flinch away. It took him a second to realize who was beside him, and he turned to the dwarf with wide eyes "Can't you see him?" he softly asked, glancing back towards the alley, his dark eyes searching intently for some vision only he could see.

"I don't see anything Cyrus," he answered. "Come on, we should get going before Belle wonders if I've taken you with me to the mines."

Cyrus slowly followed, but kept glancing over his shoulder. He knew he'd seen Jafar standing there with a wicked grin on his face and a hunger in his eyes. What did the sorcerer want with him? That was the one little detail he'd never learned during his imprisonment in Wonderland. Jafar and the Red Queen had taunted him daily with either what they planned to do to Alice to force her to use her wishes, or when they bored of that they'd terrorize him with everything they'd do to him, once Jafar was his master. And all the horrid things they'd have him do, although he never did figure out how exactly Jafar was going to make him perform half of it.

He'd been very stoic through it all, well aware they were simply waiting for a reaction out of him to feed their egos. The only time he'd ever given one was when they'd done something to jar the cage he was kept in, causing him to bang into the silver bars. Then they'd get all the reaction they wanted, but otherwise he managed to keep himself together.

That didn't mean when he was alone, save for the other prisoner, he didn't sometimes give into feelings of despair. He'd tried several times to escape without much luck. One time he'd actually made it outside only to be caught again. He was fairly certain after that Jafar had eyes everywhere.

Now he was even more convinced, and it bothered him that Grumpy could not see what had been lurking in the dark alley. It was bad enough the man haunted him in his sleep, could he not enjoy his waking hours in peace?

It was moments like this he wondered how much easier it would have been if Alice had just used her wishes, at least he wouldn't have entertained any notions of freedom. He'd always known Jafar would catch him one day, he didn't like the idea but was resigned to it. Now he would do almost anything in a bid to keep away from him.

He tried to push the thoughts from his mind, with little success. His skill at making people believe little was wrong was a plus, he knew Belle might suspect something but he should be able to convince her otherwise. He'd rather keep all of this to himself, on the chance he really had seen nothing at it was just his overactive imagination at play.

As Grumpy and Cyrus walked away, Jafar grinned before melting back into the shadows. His spy had been correct when she'd told him Cyrus was in this strange little town called Storybrooke. He had feared it would take longer to locate his quarry, and could not suppress his joy that it had been so quick. Soon he'd have everything he wanted, and his new allies would learn what it meant to make a deal with him.

Jafar did not share power, or care much for anyone but himself. When he was done they'd wish he'd never crossed paths with them. All that was left was to force Alice into making her last two wishes, then he would dispose of her too, likely right before the genie's eyes so he would never be foolish enough to ever entertain the concept of having any sort of freedom from his bottle again.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, genie, soon you will be mine," he sneered, watching as the two vanished from his sight. He had other things to attend to before preparing for his soon to be servant.

* * *

"Alice," Will said, glancing over at her from where he was laying in an attempt to sleep.

She glanced down at him stretched out on the bunk, giving him a questioning look. "You're thinking too loud again. Could you try to tone it down? Some of us might appreciate a minute or two of sleep."

"Sorry, I'll try to think a little quieter for you," she apologized, her tone betraying some misgivings.

Will groaned, he wouldn't be getting any sleep if she was worrying over something or other. "Girls worry too much, what is wrong?"

At first he was certain he'd have to pry it out of her, she was avoiding his gaze and shifting nervously from one foot to another. This was an odd antic for the rather sure of herself Alice he'd gotten to know over time. The only time he'd seen her like this was when they'd found Cyrus' bottle missing from its hiding spot.

That was one thing he couldn't help but wonder about, why they'd bothered to bury it in the first place. To him it made more sense to keep it close at hand, just on the offhand chance she'd use all three wishes. He knew he would have a hard time not using them accidently, but then again he also had a hard time keeping his mouth shut at times.

He gave his head a bit of a shake to clear his mind, there was no point letting it wander too far in case Alice decided to tell him what was on her mind. He really thought she was going to keep him in the dark until she actually spoke.

"What do you know about genies?" she inquired, looking at his with a tired look in her green eyes.

He shrugged, he didn't know a thing about them. Other than they either lived in a lamp or a bottle and granted wishes. Oh, and had a serious allergy to silver. He couldn't leave that one out; he'd witnessed that in Jafar's charming dungeon. "Not a bloody lot, why do you ask? I would fancy you'd be a bit of an expert, seeing as you are engaged to one."

She grinned a bit at that, shaking her head. "I've just been hearing things, that's all. I've heard that genies don't show emotions, not the way we do and if they do they're up to something. If they're showing any then they're playing their masters in a bid to get free and I can't help but worry. You said once maybe I saw the relationship differently. I know what I thought it was, and I know at times he tried to change it back to the whole master and servant relationship he is used to, but maybe he saw an opportunity to get free. He warned me against it, frequently, but maybe that was so I'd want to do it more."

"Where did you get these daft ideas put in your head?" he blurted out, sitting up on the bed and looking her right in the eyes. "It wasn't that worthless pirate Hook was it?"

She nodded, feeling a little foolish by the tone Will was using. But she couldn't help her misgivings, they'd been searching for some time now, she was tired. This wasn't Wonderland where she knew how to handle herself, this was a pirate ship with people who were constantly playing her. Normally she could read people, but she was exhausted from everything. Why couldn't the journey just end?

"He said a few things, even said that not all genies just come into existence, some are actually people who were cursed because they were so horrible and evil," she explained.

Will rolled his eyes, this journey was getting to both of them, the sooner they made it to Storybrooke would be for the better in both their cases. "Well, if that is the case I guess that is the worst punishment there is. And trust me, I've seen some pretty nasty ones but I think that one really takes the cake. Why would you worry about all this? You know Cyrus loves you, what does it matter if maybe he used to be a normal human being with evil tendencies? If he was, well he's gotten himself a life sentence for it and it obviously mellowed him out, if your stories are anything to go by. Can't say anything for certain as I've never met the chap, but I believe what you tell me. So stop fretting your pretty head about what the foolish pirate told you, and kindly tone your thinking down so I can get some sleep. It is hard enough considering we're still on this bloody ship, at least let me make an attempt to sleep without your thinking keeping me up. Besides, we discussed this before back in Wonderland and I was fairly certain the case was closed, considering you were fairly adamant on his feelings for you."

Alice grinned bashfully, she really had been rather silly letting all that get to her. Of course she had nothing to worry about, and if it was true he'd once been a horrible person he wasn't anymore.

"I'm sorry Will, I'll try to keep my thoughts down," she apologized and he flopped back down on the bed.

"You do that, or else next time you want to sleep I'll think so loud you'll be deafened," he promised as he closed his eyes and gave into a dreamless sleep, which he preferred.

Whenever they got on the topic of Cyrus it always reminded him of Anastasia, and he didn't want to think about her. He did hope she was well, and Jafar hadn't done anything terrible to her as he'd seen the man's perchance for inflicting pain and was most likely a huge fan of torture if he decided on it.

But then she must have known what she was getting herself into when she entered the deal with Jafar. She wasn't the sweet, wide eyed innocent he'd fallen in love with all those years ago. He knew that girl was still inside the Red Queen, but he doubted he would ever see her again.

* * *

Belle smiled as she set a few books down on the table, telling Cyrus they might be of interest to him. He thanked her and began to look them all over, evidently one who was enthralled with books just as much as she was. During Thanksgiving the Charmings had attempted to introduce them both to the wonders of some magical box they called a television, and Belle decided she still didn't like it and Cyrus had shown no interest at all, other than wondering how the people got in there. That had ensued a long, drawn out explanation that ended with him saying he'd rather read a book for entertainment.

Once she was certain he was completely taken into a book she went to talk to Grumpy. The dwarf had been wearing a stern look of concern when he'd walked in with Cyrus, although it wasn't unnatural to see him sporting a stern look on some level daily, but this she recognized to be of a different sort. The fact he didn't leave to go to the mines immediately also tipped her off.

"I take it you wanted to talk to me," she stated as she ushered him into a little office. She could still see the comings and goings in the library, which had a tendency to be precious few, but they'd be able to keep their conversation secret.

Grumpy glanced around a with a touch of concern in his eyes, then directed his attention to Belle. "You mentioned that Cyrus is having nightmares," he commented, to which she just looked at him oddly. He knew that wasn't the greatest opening, but he wasn't exactly renowned for eloquence. "Look, when we were walking over here something spooked him. I don't know what he saw, or thought he saw, but he was looking at an alley a few buildings down from Granny's as though there was someone or something in there that was going to grab him. I know you said he's been having trouble sleeping and I thought you might like to know; maybe those nightmares are starting to get to him while he's awake. Or this big bad nasty that you've hinted that is coming after him is possibly in town."

Belle frowned, this wasn't good. The lack of sleep could be playing with her friend's perception of the world in general, or it is possible Jafar was in Storybrooke. If the latter was the case, they were all in a whole lot of trouble. From what she'd heard when Cyrus even brought himself to share any of his time in Wonderland in the company of the sorcerer it was never anything to make her want to meet the man. He sounded like the embodiment of pure evil.

She looked to the door when she heard someone walk in, her nerves slightly on edge after the piece of information Grumpy had imparted on her. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when Henry walked in, his book bag slung over his one shoulder and a few notebooks clutched in his hands as he made his way to the table Cyrus was currently sitting at.

"I highly doubt Jafar would use the front door," Grumpy quipped, making Belle chuckle.

"No, I doubt he would. I'm going to phone Rumpel, I think you should relay all this to him as well. He's talked to Sidney and Jefferson about this Jafar, so hopefully he knows a little more than we do. And don't bother asking Cyrus, he will not talk about it if he doesn't have to," she explained.

Grumpy asked what exactly that meant, to be told the genie only spoke of Jafar if someone woke him out of a nightmare. The dwarf shook his head, he really wanted to plant his pick axe in the sorcerer all the more now.

"Hey Cyrus, what are you reading today?" Henry asked as he pulled his homework out of his knapsack.

"Belle gave me a book on mid-evil history, it is quite intriguing. You humans in this world have come a long way in such a short time," he answered.

Henry laughed. "You make it sound like you've been around for hundreds of years," he joked, his laughter dying down when he noted the serious look on his companion's face. "Um, just how old are you anyway?"

Cyrus simply shrugged, he had no idea. He'd always been as he was. "I honestly do not know, I've always been as you see me now. Once I thought maybe I had lived one hundred years, but I question that. Time seems to move slowly when you are alone."

"So you have no family? No parents, nothing?" Henry asked, his tone betraying his shock. His face fell when Cyrus answered in the affirmative. "That's sad, but I guess you don't have to deal with all the drama involved."

"Maybe that is true, but after many lifetimes of simply observing you cannot help but wonder what you're missing. You have a large family of people who love you, and a mother who would move the stars and moon for you, in the most literally way actually," he stated, as Henry snorted a bit.

"Regina is not my mother, she is just using me to get to David and Mary Margaret," Henry spat out, the bitterness hard to hide in his voice.

The tone surprised Cyrus a bit, he'd observed all of them together time and again and noted the way they all acted with Henry. Emma still seemed unclear of her role as a mother but was trying her best to fulfill it. He wasn't overly interested in the Charmings, although he has struck up a friendship with David. Mary Margaret was too full of mourning for the baby she never got to raise to notice the daughter she had now still needed her and David was trying to grapple the concept of being a father and grandfather, as well as how to fulfill his princely duties in a world where he technically was not a prince.

Regina on the other hand, he could tell that she did love Henry. They all did, but her love was different. It was almost desperate; she was desperate for someone to love and to reciprocate that love. In a way, he could empathise with her. She was trapped by the mistakes she'd made in the past, and he was not making excuses for her. From the few stories he'd heard, she had done many unforgivable things. But that did not exclude her from deserving someone to love her, maybe if she'd had that from the start she would not have turned to such a dark path.

"You may doubt it, and only see her as the Evil Queen in your storybook, but Regina loves you. Do her evil acts mean she is undeserving of someone to love, and to love her back?" he inquired, closing his book as he had a feeling he wouldn't be reading anymore of it for awhile.

"No offense Cyrus, but what would you know about it? She's evil and I don't think she really knows what love is. I don't think you can really lecture me on that," Henry said, his tone short. It was more than obvious a nerve had been hit.

"I think you underestimate me. I have lived more lifetimes then you could possibly comprehend and have seen much. People will do anything for love; you should have known that simply from your book of tales. What makes one woman more important than the other? One birthed you, the other raised you. Both have made mistakes, both have flaws but they share one very important characteristic: they both love you with all their heart and would do anything for you. They both express it in different ways, but both would do anything for you."

Henry sat quietly, mulling over what he'd been told. He actually wasn't overly pleased with this honest truth that had just been brought out into the open. Of course he knew Regina loved him, if she hadn't it would have been more than obvious growing up. Until that book of stories he'd never really questioned her love, just knew she wasn't capable of showing it like most people would.

"I still don't get why you should be the one lecturing me on all this," he sulked, not wanting to fully accept what was said.

Cyrus laughed softly, shaking his head. Humans could be so stubborn. "I think you've known all along that your mother loves you, she just has no idea how to express love after all the years she spent hating the world. Maybe if you would stop pushing her away things could be different, for all concerned."

Henry pursed his lips, furrowing his brows in thought. Maybe Cyrus was right, but at the same time the stories always showed that good is rewarded and loved, whilst evil was punished. He really didn't want to believe this logic. "Yeah, but you've never done anything bad so I don't see why you are arguing for her."

A pained expression crossed the genie's face, a sadness entering his eyes at that statement. Instantly Henry recalled Regina telling him years ago to watch what he said in mixed company and to never make assumptions. It struck him as odd that it was all haunting him at that moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," he apologized, trying to smile.

"It is not your fault, you did not know. I've never done anything evil but some of the wishes I have granted have brought ruin to people in the past, therefore one could say I am to blame. Human nature is confusing, most people wish for grandeur or vengeance on their enemies. Most used their wishes up quickly, until Alice. Even when she finally used a wish it wasn't even for her own benefit," he said, his mind starting to wonder in memories.

Henry said nothing, just went back to his homework and left Cyrus to his musings. Despite the fact he knew Emma was expecting him back at Mary Margaret's for dinner he was starting to think maybe, just maybe, he should spend some time with the woman who raised him and had been a mother to him for as long as he could remember.

* * *

Hook was bored. He could tell Alice had begun to doubt Cyrus' intentions but still she refused to use her wishes or to leave them somewhere he could find them. The game was getting old, and his patience wearing thin.

He wanted to get to Storybrooke and take care of a certain crocodile, the whole genie business be damned for awhile. It wasn't like the genie was going anywhere or would die from old age. Granted Alice might, but then that may solve the problem with the wishes in on its own.

He wondered if Jafar had considered that possibility himself. 'Likely not,' he mused, shoving his hand in his jacket pocket only to find a vial he hadn't remembered putting there.

Quickly he pulled it out to find it was filled with a strange glittering dust. It glowed a strange teal colour with hints of red, and was actually sort of mesmerizing. He then noticed a note attached to the cork.

_It would seem our interests have aligned, use this dust to transport your ship and all on it to Storybrooke. The genie is there, I hope you will have found a way for Alice to use her wishes, or this will all be for nothing. Make haste._

Hook grinned, it was time to leave this cursed realm and kill him a crocodile.


	7. A Sense of Family, Reunions & Dark Magic

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Rumpel woke with a start, dropping his book on the floor in the process. Something didn't feel right but he couldn't place it. He surveyed the room with his keen eyes in hopes of detecting the problem.

Everything looked as it had been when he'd nodded off an hour or so ago. His half drank mug of tea was sitting next to the empty mug of hot cocoa Cyrus had drank hours ago. Cyrus was sound asleep, and likely would be for awhile yet after the nightmare he'd woken up from. The rest of the room was empty, the way it always had been. The dresser was void of any personal effects, other than the genie's traditional garb folded neatly and the rings he always wore strewn upon the smooth surface.

It was the first time Rumpel mused they really should rectify that. His own room had become littered with mementos, as had Belle's in the short few months since the curse had broken. He had no idea what was going to happen when Alice finally found her way back into Cyrus' life, but Rumpel hoped they'd stay in his home. As he'd stated to Belle earlier, after Cyrus had retired for the night, they were both his family now and he would do anything for them. He was willing to extend that towards Alice, whenever she arrived.

He was still determined to find Bae, but sometimes you found family without trying. He didn't know how things would work out with Bae, and found a sense of security and comfort in knowing he had at least two people to call family on the chance he never found his son again.

Outside snow was falling, reminding Rumpel they'd left November and moved into December. A grin crossed his face, part of him was looking forward to how Belle and Cyrus would react to the white world they were to awaken to. He knew Belle had seen snow before in the Enchanted Forest, but it had been years since she'd been out in it. He was fairly certain Cyrus had never seen the stuff before, so he was anticipating the reaction it would garner.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, not wishing to leave the room. That night had been rough, whatever the genie was dreaming about became worse that night. He'd once again woken Belle with his cries and Rumpel wished there was some way to see what he was seeing. He almost wondered if there wasn't some form of magic involved in the dreams, as they seemed to intensify every night. Rumpel had done many horrid things in his life and inflicted a lot of pain, but he'd never heard cries like this before in his life. Whatever the genie was seeing in his sleep must be quite horrifying.

It didn't help he'd woken with a feeling of foreboding settling deep inside, giving him more cause to wonder if the nightmares weren't some type of enchantment. They were created to unsettle Cyrus, and Rumpel couldn't help but wonder when it would really take hold. He'd heard that Charming had started sparring with Cyrus on a daily basis, absolutely determined to figure out a way to disarm Cyrus, and failing miserably every time. It had amused him greatly when Belle had returned home laughing, telling him about how Cyrus still managed to disarm the prince and then proceed to use his own weapon against him, and somehow knocking Charming out flat as well. The last thing Rumpel wanted to see was him falter with a sword, not when things could turn on them all in an instant and he might not always be around to help.

He searched his mind for a spell that could help discern what exactly was happening, but could think of nothing. There had to be a way to discover if these were just memories disturbing his sleep, or if it was possible Jafar was sending some sort of enchanted nightmares. Rumpel had heard of it being done in the past, but not across realms. If that were the case, the arrival of the sorcerer was something to be feared indeed.

Something was changing in Storybrooke, and he worried it wasn't for the better. His mind kept wandering to the news he'd received from Grumpy, about what Cyrus seemed to think he saw in the alley. If it had been anyone else in town, he'd chalk it up to a wild imagination, but with everything happening he could not help but worry it was Jafar. Maybe he wasn't in a different realm sending these nightmares; it was quite possible he was right in Storybrooke. He inwardly mused that evil never slept, noting the irony of that thought in his current sleepless state.

He tried to settle back into enough of a relaxed state to fall asleep, but it was not meant to be. Whilst Cyrus slept soundly in the bed, Rumpel found himself watching the dark, snow filled sky slowly brighten until he could see the familiar pinks and purples of sunrise.

With a sigh he stood from the chair and folded the blanket he'd had covering his lap. Once he'd placed it back on the chair he picked up his book and gathered up the mugs. In another hour Belle and Cyrus would wake up, and he fancied he might as well see about making some breakfast. Something told him they'd both be spending a lot of time outside today in the snow, the thought made him grin slightly. It was moments like this he almost forgot life in the Enchanted Forest, and felt like this had always been his family.

But he'd think twice before saying it out loud too often, expressing that thought to Belle was one thing, but he would say nothing to Cyrus. He had begun to care for the genie like a son, but he knew one day Alice would end up using her wishes and he'd be gone. The same with Belle, unless he could find a way to give her eternal youth she'd be gone as well. He didn't like the idea of being alone, but that seemed to be part of being the Dark One.

* * *

Will had never been so overjoyed to see dry land in his life. He was beginning to understand the concept of falling to one's knees and kissing the earth, except in this case it was a patch of pavement by the dock and it was covered in snow and ice. So he decided against kissing it, afraid he'd end up re-enacting a scene from some Christmas movie he'd seen once or twice, but he was more than happy to proclaim his joy at seeing land again.

"Ah, Storybrooke! Never been so happy to see you again, even if you are covered in that horrible white stuff," he shouted, his arms spread wide as if to envelope the entire town in an embrace.

Alice looked at him oddly, not exactly sure what to make of his antics. Hook had let them off the ship and had since vanished, with said ship. She had a feeling there was some magic at play but didn't feel like fretting over it. The pirates were gone for the time being and she felt as though she could finally relax for a few moments. She was about to ask him where they were going to go when someone else spoke up.

"Could you shout a little louder? I'm sure they didn't hear you on the other end of town," a short, stout man with a dark beard snapped as he walked down the frozen beach towards them.

Will grinned widely, happy to see a familiar face. "Can a man not show his excitement to be home again after a perilous journey? No need to be so grumpy about it" he quipped, making the other man almost smile.

"That is my name, so I guess I should be living up to it. The idea of you on a perilous journey is laughable at best. Who's your friend Will? She looks too good for you," Grumpy observed as Alice laughed.

Will placed a hand over his heart, giving the dwarf a wounded look. "You hurt me with those words, you really do. How do you know I'm not too good for her?"

Grumpy chuckled. "I know you, thats how I know she's far too good for the likes of you. Now are you going to introduce us or what?"

Just as Will was about to do the introductions he noticed a red glow. He looked over to Alice, who was glancing down with a smile on her face. When she looked up at him again her smile was brighter than he'd seen in a long time. He could almost feel her excitement radiating off her. "He's here, he's in Storybrooke!" she exclaimed, clutching the pendent in her hands.

"Bloody hell," Will said, laughing. This really was the most fortunate, if not almost unbelievable, turn of events. He had hoped finding Cyrus again wouldn't take too long, but he really hadn't expected him to show up quite so quickly.

Grumpy glanced between them both, wondering if they were both going mad. "So her necklace glows, big deal. I'm sure you can buy something to do the same thing in the toy section at the store. Mind telling me who she is before we freeze out here?"

"Oh, this is Alice. Alice, this is Grumpy and yes, he suits the name," Will explained, as Alice shook his outstretched hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Grumpy," she said, just as his eyes lit up with recognition.

"Alice, as in the Alice from Wonderland? Cyrus' Alice?" he asked, his tone betraying a touch of excitement.

Will cocked an eyebrow curiously as Alice nodded. "You've seen him?" Will inquired. "Bottle and all?"

Alice looked over slightly exasperated, but Grumpy just shrugged. "Yeah, I've met Cyrus. Never seen the bottle though, not that I care about that. I was with him at Granny's yesterday; he's made a lot of friends around here. The kids really love that magic paper when he makes it into things, getting really popular with some of the little girls."

"Can you take us to him?" Alice asked, to which Grumpy shook his head slightly. "Why not?"

Grumpy nodded towards the clock overlooking the town. "I'm all for the romantic reunions but it is only 7:10am. I don't know the sleeping habits of genies but I do know who he's staying with and would prefer not to get on Gold's bad side."

"Bloody wonderful, how did he end up with that man?" Will groaned, running his hands through his rather short hair. Nothing was ever simple, they'd gone from going up against Jafar and the Red Queen to having to deal with Gold. He couldn't decide which was the lesser of the two evils.

"It's a long story, why don't I tell you over breakfast at Granny's? You both look like you could use something warm to eat," Grumpy suggested and they were both more than happy to take him up on the offer. "And seeing as it is December, count this as my goodwill towards man gesture."

Alice was longing to see Cyrus again, but now that she knew he was at least in the same town she was, she could wait just a little longer. And besides, she was quite hungry. There might be songs praising the life of a pirate, but they certainly didn't have much in terms of decent food to eat.

* * *

When Cyrus finally did wake up he was rather surprised at how bright the room seemed compared to most every other morning since he arrived in Storybrooke. At first he thought he had overslept, but one look at the clock on the bedside table told him he had not.

Sitting up he glanced out the window to see the world awash with white. "How curious," he muttered, getting out of bed and slipping into a housecoat and slippers.

As he walked towards the window, unsure of what he was seeing outside, Belle burst into the room with a wide smile on her face. "It's snowing!" she exclaimed, rushing over to the window and pulling the curtains wide.

"Snow?" he asked. This was new, he'd never heard of this before. Well, other than the woman with two names that is.

Belle looked at him oddly, a bit surprised to meet someone who'd never heard of snow. "You know, winter? Have you never seen snow before?" she asked as he shook his head. "Oh, wow. Sorry, I keep forgetting the whole geine living in a bottle thing. I guess it wouldn't be often a genie would find themselves somewhere with snow."

He laughed. "Well, I cannot speak for others but I assure you this is the first time I've seen snow. It is quite pretty," he said as Rumpel walked in.

"Isn't this an adorable scene?" he quipped, causing both to turn around at the sound of his voice. "Oh, don't stop staring at the snow on account of me dearies. I was just coming to check on Cyrus, but I see he's wide awake now," he explained, a rare smile gracing his face.

Belle laughed and walked over to him. "You know, if only you'd be like this more often the entire town wouldn't think you were so evil and dislike you," she told him, wrapping her arms around him for a quick moment and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Oh no, it is better they're wary of me. Besides, most of the people in this town are so one minded I doubt they'd want to see anything I do as with good intentions. It is good protection for you, and now Cyrus, if the townspeople fear me. They won't go after either of you for fear of what I might do in retaliation," he explained, getting himself a rather strange look from Cyrus. "Oh, trust me, I know you're great with a sword. Charming is still complaining about you showing him up but there is strength in numbers. Now, I've prepared some breakfast, if you're interested."

With that said and out of the way, Rumpel turned out of the room with both following him to the kitchen, and before long the three of them were seated and having something to eat over a long talk. Belle actually found it quite enjoyable; it reminded her of family life as a child. It was something she had sorely missed as she grew up, and had realized she would never have again after being reunited with her father recently. She still loved him, but would never fully trust him again after that little trip she'd almost taken across the town line curtsey of him.

Her thoughts came back to the present when Cyrus brought up the task Rumpel had set out for him. "I think I may have solved your problem with memory loss," he stated, bringing Rumpel's full attention on him.

"Really? I thought it would take you longer than a week or two to figure something out," he said, earning himself a bit of a smirk from Cyrus.

"I told you once, do not underestimate me. It was simple really, laughably so. Everyone in this town, with the exception of Emma, Henry and myself are two people in one body. Your original self from the Enchanted Forest as well as the person you became when you were brought to this realm. Upon passing the town line your curse personality takes over and becomes who you are, as that is what is acceptable in this realm. Fairy tales do not exist here, therefore neither do you.

"If you can find something dear to you, something that is close to the heart of who you truly are, you can enchant it to become a talisman. So long as it is with you or close at hand, you will retain who you truly are. Anyone who wishes to leave this town will have to do so, or else they will become their cursed selves for the rest of their days," he explained.

Rumpel grinned, he really hadn't expected Cyrus to come up with anything in all honesty, he'd just wanted to keep the genie out of trouble and out of his things. The fact he'd come up with something plausible actually impressed him. "Well dearie, it would seem I did do you a great disservice by underestimating you after all. That actually sounds like a very sound theory that I'll have to test out."

"But what if it doesn't work?" Belle asked, worry evident in her voice. She'd only just found Rumpel again and wasn't about to lose him once more. He was trying so hard to be the person she knew he could be, the person he really was and she didn't want to see it disappear in an instant. She understood his drive and determination to find his son, but at the same time she wondered why he couldn't just let it go and enjoy the family he had sitting right in front of him.

Rumpel smiled at her, reaching over and taking her hands in his. "Do not worry about it; I will not do anything until I'm absolutely certain it will work. What he's said does make a lot of sense, but you never jump into anything without knowing what you're up against first."

She smiled, relaxing a little. "Good," she simply said and then turned her attention to Cyrus. "I say, since it is your first winter, we go to the park and have some fun."

"What do you mean?" he asked, noting the amused look the washed over Rumpel's face.

"You know, play in the snow! Snow ball fights, all the stuff kids do in winter," she explained, laughing a little. She hadn't done anything like that since she was a young girl, not that she hadn't longed to play in the snow when she'd grown into an adult. Now seemed like the perfect time to do it once more.

Cyrus wasn't too sure what she was talking about, but it did sound like fun. He'd watched children at play many times and had always thought it looked like a great diversion from the monotony reality could be. There had been occasions the children of some of his many masters had asked him to play with them, but sadly he could not.

"Why don't you two kids get cleaned up and I'll drive you to the park on my way to the shop," Rumpel teased as he got up from the table.

"We're not children," Belle argued.

Rumpel chuckled. "If you'd seen the two of you this morning crowded by the window, watching the snow fall with nothing short of wonder dancing in your eyes you'd think you were children as well. Now I'll take care of the dishes, you two get ready to go."

Belle and Cyrus glanced at each other, joy twinkling in their eyes and bright smiles coming over their faces. Rumpel didn't have to tell either of them twice, as they were pushing away from the table as quickly as possible in an effort to get ready to leave.

He couldn't help the laugh, he truthfully could be very happy with this living situation, but he had to find Bae. It was the only way he could even begin to atone for his mistakes of the past.

* * *

The snow wasn't stopping, much to Will's annoyance. He'd been looking forward to returning to Storybrooke for so long he had actually hoped the weather might have been better. Time moved differently between realms and he'd been anticipating the possibility that maybe the entire autumn and winter season had flown by whilst he was trekking about Wonderland, getting turned to stone, tracking down lost loves and all that other fun stuff. But obviously he wasn't that lucky, it felt as if he'd been in Wonderland forever, to him anyway, but it was only a few months in Storybrooke.

He supposed you couldn't always have everything, at least he wasn't on that ship with the pirates anymore and the best part was this whole search for Cyrus, part two, was basically over. He truly had begun to worry that it was possible he'd be dragged all over on yet another quest, and if the genie hadn't turned up in this realm he couldn't even begin to fathom how they'd manage some realm hopping without their furry friend the White Rabbit. In truth, he had considered dragging Alice to the hospital and then use his wish to bring Cyrus to them. He figured at least if he did appear hanging by a rope or something equally disturbing, they'd be in a hospital and surely Dr. Whale could revive him.

But thankfully that wasn't needed, as the wish made back in Wonderland turned out quite well. Thinking back on the wish Alice had made, it actually made perfect sense that Cyrus had ended up with Belle and Gold. He shuddered to think what could have happened if Regina had found the bottle, it seemed almost everything the woman touched turned bad even if she did have good intentions. At least with Gold he'd had some extra help when Jafar finally came for him again. Not that Regina didn't have a good deal of fire power in her fingertips, he just wondered at times who's side she truly was on.

Will didn't have the heart to tell Alice the ordeal with the sorcerer was far from over, but at least they'd have a bit of a break. He'd wondered several times how long it had taken him to figure out Cyrus was in Wonderland, but of course there really was no way to tell. All the non lineal time and what not, it didn't help. Hopefully a year in Wonderland plotting and planning didn't turn out to be only fifteen minutes in Storybrooke, because Will felt they all deserved some down time.

Laughter reached his ears and he glanced towards the park expecting to find some truant children playing rather than in class, as they should be. He was rather surprised to find two adults throwing snow at each other, and evidently having a great time at it too. The one he recognized to be Belle, although he'd only seen her once before the rabbit blew a hole in the floor of the diner, effectively ruining his nightly coffee run. The other person was a man, with dark hair that curled slightly, and it only took Will a moment to remember where he'd seen his face before. Granted, it had been from a distance and he certainly had looked worse for wear at the time, but he'd know their errant genie when he saw him.

Alice had noticed as well and was looking over, her smile widening when recognition flooded her face. She took off at a run, completely ignoring the strange looks she was getting as she pushed anyone who stood between her and her heart's desire out of her path. Will grinned lopsidedly and followed her as she ran towards an unsuspecting Cyrus. He apologized to a few of the people she'd knocked down, and inwardly smiled when it turned out to be people he wasn't overly fond of. Despite the fact he had a very cynical outlook on love, due to his history with it and some due to the fact he did grow up in a fairy tale, he was glad to see for the moment there was a happy ending for his friend. No matter how short lived it might be. But true love could overcome anything, or that is what he'd always heard.

Cyrus had no idea Alice was in Storybrooke, or even headed for him at that very moment. Both he and Belle were caught up in a snowball fight, one that Rumpel had stuck around for just because he could not believe two adults were playing like children in the park.

Belle shrieked with laughter when she suddenly was hit with snow, looking over at him with a huge smile on her face. "You'll pay for that!" she teased, leaning over to form a huge snowball before he could have a chance to hit her again.

Much to her delight, he was fast with a sword and had quick reflexes, but making snowballs was not one of his talents. His aim was great, but he just wasn't quick making them, therefore she managed to throw one at him before he could even consider making another to throw at her.

Right when he moved out of the way of a snow ball Belle had tossed at him, he felt someone grab him by the arms and spin his around. He didn't even have time to react, it wasn't often someone could sneak up on him. Before he could say a word or even comprehend what exactly was happening he had a quick glance of Alice looking at him with her radiant smile, right before she leaned in and kissed him.

Belle smiled, dropping the snow ball she was holding. She knew who had suddenly arrived and put their game to an abrupt end, not that she begrudged the young woman it. There was just something magical about the moment, the way Alice had suddenly come out of nowhere and the snow drifting from the pale blue sky above. If it weren't for the fact that all their lives technically were fairy tales she'd say that is what it was.

"Alice, when did you arrive?" Cyrus asked breathlessly, when the kiss was finally broken. He couldn't stop looking at her, hardly able to believe she was standing right in front of him. He reached a gloved hand up to run his hand over her hair, as if to assure himself it wasn't some vision and she truly was real.

Alice smiled as she hugged him as close to her as she possible could. He wrapped his arms around her small frame, resting his chin on her head as she pressed up against his chest. It just seemed too good to be true, she was actually with him again. "Just this morning, I could hardly believe it when the necklace began to glow. I thought I'd have to spend even longer trying to find you."

"I'm glad for once to see a wish that didn't have a string attached," he said, as she looked up at him, her beautiful smile lighting up her face.

He could hardly help himself, and without giving it any thought, he kissed her again. He didn't care who was watching, although he had noticed a few of the inhabitants of the small town starting to walk over with curiosity etched on their faces. He was well aware strangers were rare in the town, and although he would have preferred not to be making a slight spectacle out of this reunion he couldn't deny his need to give into the overwhelming rush of emotions within him. He truly had thought he'd never see Alice again.

Rumpel started when someone sat down next to him on the park bench, glancing over to see Regina. Much to his surprise she was actually smiling, and it was a genuine smile. "Well, this is a rare sight," he commented.

"I can't be happy for someone else?" she snapped, glaring at him.

He shrugged. "Well, the whole reason we're here is because you didn't want anyone to have a happy ending, so the fact you're actually gracing us with a real smile over this touching reunion is strange."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Yes and that worked out so well. So long as it isn't Snow White and her prince, those two are so disgustingly sweet I'm surprised this whole town doesn't have issues with cavities."

Rumpel just shook his head and laughed.

"I actually was out looking for him, I wanted to thank him," Regina explained, her gaze wandering back over to the person in question.

Rumpel looked at her questioningly. It wasn't often Regina felt the need to thank anyone for much of anything. This was a rare occurrence indeed. "Well I saw Mary Margaret earlier on, so obviously you didn't work some magic on him to get him to kill her off for you," he drily observed.

"Do you really think that is all I concern myself with? Don't even bother answering that, it was rhetorical. I wanted to thank him for whatever he said to Henry yesterday at the library. I don't know what it was, but he came home last night and actually wanted to spend time with me for once. There was no talk about Emma or the other two morons, it actually felt like it did years ago. Even this morning when he left for school he wasn't telling me he was going to see Emma tonight, he's actually going to come home to do mother and son things for a change," she explained, her surprise at what had occurred still lingering in her voice.

"I see he can still grant some wishes without magic then, as I am fairly certain all you've wanted is the son back you had before all this started with that book," Rumpel mused, his tone somewhat wistful.

Regina nodded, watching as the person she knew as the Knave of Hearts crept up on the couple and proceeded to shove snow down Alice's coat. A high pitched shriek rang through the air as she turned and shoved him down in the snow. "I see some things never change, it would appear our Knave is still good at getting on the ladies' last nerve."

"And yet you could never ask for a truer friend. Did you want me to relay your thanks to Cyrus or were you going to stop by and thank him in person?" Rumpel asked, turning his attention back to the former queen.

"I'll stop by this week and thank him in person. It is funny, when he first arrived I was worried of some far reaching implications, but he seems to have fit into our little town quite well. It would be a shame if anything should happen to him," she mentioned just as her cell phone rang.

She stood and walked away, talking to whoever was on the other end in a rather annoyed tone. Rumpel felt his concerns rise, it almost sounded as though Regina was making a passive threat for the well being of someone he actually cared about. If she thought she would get away with it, she was very wrong.

Should Regina become a problem, or a threat, he would just have to take care of her himself.

* * *

Will was a bit surprised by what he was seeing. If he was honest about it, he'd really thought the home of the Dark One would be, well, much darker. Possibly like something out of one of those horror movies he enjoyed watching on the telly in late October. Maybe not quite as gory as some of that stuff could be, but possibly walls painted in a blood red with thick black drapes keeping out any speck of sunlight. Lots of candles too, just to set the mood for any dark thoughts and wrong doings. He really was feeling slightly cheated.

It looked like most any other home he'd ever seen in Storybrooke. There was nothing dark about it, the mid afternoon sun was streaming through the windows, the hallway was lit with different colours as the stained glass on the door windows were illuminate by the golden rays. The place actually was almost homey, in a comforting way. Not exactly what Will expected from someone with the ever ominous title The Dark One.

He had to give Rumpel one thing; it was a sight cleaner than the little flat he kept in around downtown Storybrooke. Mind you he reasoned if he could use magic he'd likely find it easier to pick up after himself as well. He wasn't sure if he'd actually get around to remembering to clean, but at least the magic option might make it a slight bit easier.

Belle had taken Alice off to one of the bedrooms to find her something to wear, and Will was starting to wonder why no one was offering him a fresh set of clothing. It seemed like rather bad form, he'd love to be rid of anything that even had a scent of the ocean on it, and so far as he was concerned that was exactly how his clothing smelt to him. He wanted to forget his time at sea, and frankly he'd opt for burning his clothes so long as he got a fresh set first.

Right when he was about to ask about a change of clothing, Rumpel inquired if he'd like to change into something else. That was something he couldn't disagree with, and was even more surprised when it was Cyrus who motioned for him to follow. He mused maybe it was better than accepting anything from Rumpel, anything from him did tend to come with a price. He wasn't sure what the price would be on clothing, but he'd rather not find out. Not to mention Rumpel's style really wasn't something he was into, neither was what Cyrus seemed to be sporting but it was a sight better than smelling like the ocean.

He followed the genie into a rather generic looking bedroom, which did surprise him a little. On the walk over to the house he'd gotten the impression the three of them had formed a bit of a bond and that it was possible Cyrus actually wanted to stay with them. Now that Alice had finally arrived, they could be happy and live somewhere that they'd be safe as well as no one would ever bat an eye over the fact Cyrus wasn't going to age. He had expected to find something in the bedroom to make it look like a room that belonged to someone; he wasn't sure what, but certainly not a room that looked like a temporary spot to rest one's head.

The only personal affects appeared to be the clothing he had last seen Cyrus wearing in Wonderland, minus the rings which he kept on himself when he was not sleeping. "I'm not wearing that," he flat out said, pointing to the clothes folded on top of the dresser. Trousers and warm sweaters, which he assumed Belle had purchased, might not be his style but he was damn sure leather pants and a loose, low cut shirt were even less so.

"No, I wasn't going to give you those to wear," Cyrus answered, opening a drawer and pulling out a sweater, which he handed to Will before walking over to the closet. "I am not sure of your size but I hope some of these fit you."

"Ah, well I am sure I can pull it off. Just glad to have something normal, was a little worried for a moment there," he joked as he picked up the pants Cyrus had laid out on the bed for him. At least those were closer to his style than the deep red sweater, but he wasn't going to complain. They didn't smell like salt water.

The genie just grinned and made to leave the room. He stopped when he grabbed the door knob, turning to look at Will. "I would extend my thanks to you for helping Alice and looking out for her in Wonderland and afterwards, words will never be able to express my gratitude."

"No problem, I'm just glad to finally have met you after all her talk. And she's already taken care of a payment for my help," Will informed him whilst looking over the outfit he would soon be sporting.

"How exactly?" Cyrus inquired, looking at the Knave a little warily.

Will felt he should be insulted, but then if it had been his girl who had promised payment to another man he'd be concerned too. Mind he doubted what just went through his head was going through Cyrus'. "She promised me one of her wishes, that's all."

The look that crossed Cyrus' face right then was one Will was not expecting. It looked like a mix between worry, dread and even a touch of betrayal, and he took a few moments for him to realize why exactly what he'd said would cause such a reaction. "Bloody hell, sorry. Shouldn't have just blurted that out like I did," he swore, mentally kicking himself.

"They are her wishes to use as she pleases, I told her that upon meeting her. I knew she would use them eventually," Cyrus asserted, his voice soft.

Will frowned, this was going south fast. "She isn't moving on, I know you two promised never to move on from each other. But you do realize no matter what, she will eventually leave, forever," Will emphasized. "From what I know about genies, you live until all of our existence ends, her years are pretty finite."

"I know, I am well aware of how short our time together will be. If she uses the wishes it will be even shorter, but as I am destined to spend all eternity serving the whim of whoever finds me, it was hard not to entertain the idea of having the span of one mortal lifetime not being trapped into granting wishes for greed filled people. Perhaps it is selfish of me, as I am robbing her of a normal life. With me she will not have what most women desire in a life or marriage," he answered, removing his hand from the door handle as he figured this conversation might carry on a little longer than expected.

"Oh, trust me, Alice is not concerned with what other women her age want. She wants you Cyrus, that is all she wants in life. I can't say I fully understand it, other than you both seem to have serious self esteem issues so that might be playing into it.. Maybe it was her family life that is behind her lack of desire for certain things, but I broached this topic with her a few times when we were looking for you. Whatever this love is you have for each other, it certainly transcends any kind of love I've ever felt for anyone. Nothing is going to cause her to move on from you, not if it can be helped, and I am fairly certain if it did happen she'd move heaven and earth to find you again," Will reassure the genie, a smile gracing his face.

Cyrus didn't say anything, simply looked at Will curiously for a few moments. He'd always been able to tell things about people, he chalked it up to the life he led and having to know in a few seconds what sort of master he was dealing with, but he could tell Will wasn't being fully truthful. This Knave of Hearts had felt a great love at one time, and still pined for it but not as strongly as one would think. Cyrus couldn't help but wonder why, and decided once all this was over with Jafar, if he was still free, he would repay the debt he felt he owed by helping Will find his heart's desire once more.

Will could still see the doubt in Cyrus' dark eyes but felt it best to say nothing more. It was up to Alice to assure him that she wasn't moving on from him, it was strange how two people with the same insecurities seemed to complete each other. But, he mused, wasn't that how it was with him and Anastasia? No one wanted to see them for what they truly were, and they had completed each other as well. That was a whole lot different from this though, it still baffled him at times how adamant Alice was over this love she had for a mythical and magical being.

It simply was a strange and odd situation, a mortal and an immortal. He couldn't imagine living for eternity, not that he wouldn't mind keeping his youthful good looks, but the price of having to serve the will of other's was too hefty in his mind's eye. Although he was pretty sure it wasn't a life someone chose. He laughed slightly, which Cyrus inquired what was so amusing.

"Nothing really, I was just thinking I'd be rubbish as a genie. The first person to annoy me I'd likely maim or try to kill," he joked.

"You wouldn't be able to kill anyone, not with magic anyway," Cyrus informed him, trying not to smile and failing. "And you need your master to make all their wishes in order to be freed of their will. Killing them does make things a bit more complicated."

Will shrugged. "See, that is why it wouldn't be a good fit for me. And that whole calling someone master, yeah, not for me."

"It is quite simiple after a few centuries. It is stopping that is the problem," Cyrus told him, reaching for the door handle again. "Once more, I do thank you for all you've done."

"Don't think anything of it, we couldn't leave you to whatever Jafar had planned. Any chance you know what it was?" Will questioned, hoping to get even the slightest hint as to what the sorcerer had been up to.

Cyrus shook his head. "Sadly he never divulged the details to me. I thought at first he intended to steal my magic, but he planned to own it which gave me the impression that meant he would own me completely."

With that Cyrus left the room, leaving Will with the feeling of his blood going cold. He would always be the first to admit he didn't know a whole lot about the stuff, but he knew enough to know that Cyrus held a lot of power inside of the laws of magic, even if it was forever tied to the will of whatever master he had at the time. The idea of Jafar controlling it was frightening, more so as he planned to somehow change the laws of magic.

The very concept of him changing what could be done with magic was terrifying. The fact that he may well have been able to alter the laws of magic and use the genie to do his evil work was even more chilling. Jafar would have everything he could ever want, and Cyrus would be the one to live with the guilt of it for all eternity.

* * *

Jafar had been good enough to provide Hook with a bit of magic to cloak his ship from sight, so he was absently gazing out the windows of the captain's quarters at the small, snow covered town. He was itching to get at his own quest, now that he was so close to its completion.

"You realize there is magic in this town now, and you will not be able to get near this Dark One," Jafar said from behind him.

Hook jumped slightly at the voice of the sorcerer, he really hated how the man just came and went as he pleased. One of the pluses of being able to use magic he supposed, he had to admit being able to sneak up like that would be a perk. But right now it was just annoying.

Hook turned and leveled the man with a glare. "You could try using a door once in awhile, knocking to let people know you're coming."

"And where is the fun in that? Besides, I had to stop you from doing something foolish. The man you are seeking is powerful, and with magic restored in this place called Storybrooke you have no hope of defeating him. My spy tells me he plans to leave the town soon, making it the perfect time to exact your revenge and to capture the genie," he explained, a grin playing on his lips.

Hook flopped down in a chair, getting a little sick of all this genie talk. He still didn't understand why the man needed this particular genie, when almost any would likely do. "You know, in all the time I've known you I've had a feeling there is more to this tale than you're telling me. If you're after darker magic than you already possess all you need, from what I've heard, is Rumpelstiltskin's dagger. Kill him, and you're the next Dark One, simple as that."

"I want the origin of his dark magic, not the diluted version. This Dark One you're after is powerful, but even he does not realize at one time the dark magic he is filled with was much, much stronger. That is why this particular genie is important; locked away in him is that dark magic and I intend to use him to get it," Jafar explained.

"Excuse me? How would a genie have two different types of magic and not be aware of it?" Hook asked, reaching in a drawer for a bottle of rum. Somehow, he knew he was going to need it very soon.

Jafar growled slightly, he hated showing his cards to anyone but this time he felt it might be necessary. It wouldn't matter in the long run, he didn't care if the pirate killed this man called the Dark One or not, he was going to do away with the rum drinking fool on his own anyway. This bit of knowledge would make no difference; the pirate was going to die regardless.

"Your Dark One gets his power from the passing of a dagger, but have you ever wondered where this dagger originated?" he questioned, and as expected the pirate shook his head. Of course he didn't, Jafar mused to himself. "I suppose it is time to tell you a tale, one that will help you to understand why this genie is the key to unlocking dark magic and making it the way it once was. All power comes from somewhere, and this genie once was a mortal and the son of the most powerful dark sorcerer that ever lived. He holds within him the undiluted dark magic that your Dark One has, and I intend to control it, and him."

Hook opened the bottle of rum, he was right; for this tale he was going to need a couple shots of rum in his system. That or he'd need the liquid courage to pry the information from Jafar, for the sorcerer was anything but forthcoming.


	8. Something Found, Something Lost

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for a bit of fun._

Will would have preferred staying in his own apartment that night, but had felt saying no to an invitation to stay at Gold's might not be wise. He really did hate to refuse the man anything, just in case he ever found himself in a fix and needed help it would always be grand to be on the man's good side. And of course, he just couldn't say no to Alice.

The whole evening hadn't been overly interesting, not one person seemed to understand the use of a telly. Rumpel and Belle were both absorbed in some book or other while Alice and Cyrus sat by a window talking softly. Will did find it absolutely amusing how enthralled Cyrus was with the snow, he wondered how much he'd like it if he had to shovel it every day. As much as he wanted to switch on the telly and lose himself in some inane show, he decided to follow suit and read a book.

He walked over to the shelf and looked it over, again and again, not finding anything of great interest. There were some classics of literature that he assumed were Belle's, and some books on spells and history that he was fairly certain belonged to Gold, or Rumpel he supposed. Now that the curse was broken it did get rather confusing what to call people.

Books just were not his thing, so he gave up on that fast and went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. All this couple stuff was actually getting on his nerves. Not that he begrudged Alice and Cyrus their time together, as he knew it was just going to be torn apart in the near future, and he hoped not for good, but it brought back memories he'd rather have left buried and forgotten.

In a way he understood Jafar's motives, the man was power drunk and possibly a little crazy, but what was Anastasia after? She was a queen now, she could have anything she desired, what did she need with a genie? Or better question, why did she feel the desire to help Jafar ruin someone's life? Granted, from the short conversation with Cyrus he could tell it wasn't much of a life, but it would likely be far better than what Jafar and Anastasia had planned.

If she wanted things the way they once were, all she had to do was say the word and he'd do anything for her. He'd forgive almost anything, just to hold her again. She was the only one he'd ever wanted, the only one he could ever love with all his heart. He would forgive just about any of her transgressions just to hear her telling him she loved him again. He'd forget all her dealings with Jafar simply to see her radiant smile once more.

He flipped the switch on the coffee maker and leaned against the counter, looking out at the fluffy flakes of snow falling from the dark sky, lost in his thoughts. If she'd wanted the past changed, she didn't need magic. She just had to say the words and he would be her's again.

It was so simple, but life never was that easy.

* * *

"Do you drink anything but that swill?" Jafar inquired as he walked over to the pirate.

Hook shrugged. "I like to chase it with water here and there. And with this tale you just started I think I'm going to need some to get me through it," he drawled.

Jafar sneered, waving his hand and diluting the rum to nothing more than coloured water. "With our task at hand it would be appreciated if you would abstain from that drink for awhile. Alice has proven to be quite the formidable girl, and that genie seems to be quite the fighter as well."

That seemed like just as good an opening as anything, considering he no longer had his drink to help him through this conversation. Hook had been told at times he didn't know how to pick and chose his battles and this time was no different. "Yes well, Alice isn't the focus of this tale now is she? You hinted at something and I want answers. Getting bloody tired of all this cloak and dagger stuff; just spit it out. Why does this genie have all this dark magic?"

Jafar leveled him with a glare, anger at being questioned written in his dark eyes. "You want more information than what I have already given you? I would have thought it enough to suffice; it told you what you need to know."

"Clearly it is not enough; else I wouldn't have brought it up. Just something about a dagger and dark magic, that doesn't tell me a whole lot. It seems a bit silly to be chasing this genie across realms, all for a bit of dark magic," Hook pushed on, figuring he'd gone this far there wasn't much point in stopping now. He'd either get answers or end up dead.

Jafar snarled, agitated that he was being questioned. He liked to keep most things to himself but in this case what difference did it make? Both his allies would be dead when he was finished, he had no intentions of leaving them alive as he had the last one. "The difference is this genie isn't one who just sprang into existence, but he is unaware of his mortal life, as of yet. Centuries ago there was a sorcerer with the greatest dark powers ever known to man, no one could challenge him and all feared him. He had three children, two daughters and a son. The daughters, although skilled in the art of dark magic were nothing compared to their father. It was the son, the youngest, who possessed the greatest power, and like it always seems to go in these tales, he had no desire to wield it. Make no mistake, he had used it several times, if the books are to be believed, but was rather horrified with the results and swore he'd never use it again. Not that this endeared him to any in the village, other than the one friend he had, and his family.

"The people of the surrounding villages grew weary of fearing this man, so in retaliation they managed to capture the son and curse him. Upon discovering what had happened to their brother, the daughters joined together to take all the dark powers from their father. This is where you might recognize some of the lore; the only way to take away the dark magic, as he was so filled with it, was to end his life. The dagger they used became a sort of talisman, laden with this dark magic. For fear someone in the villages would use it against them, they sent it to another place," he divulged, taking a moment to pause in the story while realization washed over the pirate.

The dagger, a dagger drenched in dark magic. That was how the Dark One came into being. Hook's eyes went wide when he realized what the sorcerer was telling him, this was the link he was hinting at. "You mean to tell me, this dagger which gave Rumpelstiltskin his power is the one the daughters used to kill their father?" he queried, to which Jafar only nodded. "Well, that is an interesting bit of legend, but what has it to do with the genie?"

"Were you not paying attention, pirate?" Jafar snarled. The one time he decided to actually let someone in on the reason behind all this, and he ends up with a rum soaked pirate. He thought it was fairly explanatory without all the history. At least the Red Queen would have figured it all out without further explanation. "The son was cursed. The daughters tried to find his bottle; they spent their entire lives trying to locate him with no avail, so the books say. It wouldn't have mattered, as they had hoped to free him but that is impossible. They had cursed him to the life of a genie not only to punish his family, but also to lock away the potential in him for evil. Even though he was loathed to use it, they feared it would eventually consume him and he would be even more powerful than his father.

"That is why it must be this genie; once his will belongs to me I can tap into the darker magic within him, and bypass all the laws of magic. I can bypass the rule of the three wishes, and I'll be able to use the darker magic locked within him to do whatever we desire and he'll be powerless to stop it. He has no control over that power, he doesn't even know he has it. He can sense dark magic, which is not something a genie can do. It is because of his heritage. The only magic he can control is that to grant wishes, which is very powerful in itself, but this darker power is how we'll get everything we've ever wanted," Jafar explained to him, a satisfied smile gracing his face.

Hook didn't say anything, there really wasn't much he could say to that. He knew the Dark One did not possess the power to bring back the dead, but then the power the dagger held was slightly diluted and not the same as the power this genie held unknowingly. It seemed like a dangerous game they were playing and he almost longed to back out. The only thing that kept him from doing so was the fact he liked living. "How exactly is it this genie, who I assume has a proper name, doesn't know about any of this?" he questioned.

"I would have thought that obvious. Part of the deal with being cursed into that life is the person loses all memory of their mortal life. Why he still retains any mortal notions of friendship and love is beyond me, unless they worked that into the spell they used to curse him, feeling some guilt for punishing an innocent for the sins of his family. And yes, he has a proper name, as you so eloquently put it. His name is Cyrus," the sorcerer imparted.

Hook just nodded, he did want to know who the third in their party was, but felt he'd pressed his luck enough for one day. He knew it wasn't the Red Queen, Jafar had left her in Wonderland, swearing he could not trust anyone who still had any sort of a heart. He wondered if he meant in the literal sense, as he'd seen hearts ripped out before. All he'd been told about the third is that the person was in Storybrooke and it was someone known to him.

That really didn't narrow it down by much, but Hook decided to leave well enough alone for one day. He returned to his rum and Jafar left him to it, muttering in a language the pirate did not understand, nor did he care to.

* * *

Emma would have preferred to have left Henry in Storybrooke, instead of dragging him along to the capital of Maine on a wild goose chase. Even though she'd watched Rumpel magically show them where to find Bae it didn't mean she really bought it. She might be a fairy tale princess with her own dormant talent in magic, but she did grow up in a very cynical world.

It had surprised her when Regina had allowed Henry to go for the trip, although she had a feeling the only reason she'd agreed to it was due to the fact she'd informed the woman that Alice, Cyrus and Will would be with them. She had no idea why that little piece of information had changed her demeanour completely, but either way she was getting to spend some time with Henry, even though it wasn't the type of quality time she would have preferred.

It surprised her how easy this was, the whole thing was almost too easy in her opinion. They just arrive in the city and go to the exact spot a spell had located Rumpel's son, in her experience this was far too good to be true.

A part of her was glad magic wasn't normal in this realm that would be a pretty scary ability. She was glad this was turning out to be fairly easy, even though she had her doubts on how accurate this locator spell would turn out to be, and he hadn't been in some massive city like New York. That would have been the epitome of trying to find a needle in a haystack.

She had insisted on leaving Henry in the company of their friends from Wonderland. After they'd driven by the house Rumpel's magic had shown to be where Bae was staying, they'd gone a little ways further to find somewhere to leave the rest of their company. Henry had been a little upset, he wanted to meet Bae but had been informed it could be dangerous, you never know who you're up against and once they had found him and talked to him, there would be no issues with introductions.

The other three seemed more than happy to be left out of this family reunion. Will had no interest, he said he was just in for the road trip, Alice seemed rather invested in the idea of a father and child reunion and although Rumpel was loathed to say it, he felt uncomfortable having Cyrus witnessing this father and son reunion. This was his biological son, but the other he considered a son of his heart and did not want him there, not to mention he was worried Bae might get defensive if he thought he'd been replaced by some magical being. He was so strongly against magic, he might see Cyrus as a bit of a threat.

It made more sense to keep everyone close together, with the looming threat of Jafar, but this was something Rumpel felt the three from Wonderland did not need to be party to right away. He hoped, if worse came to worse whilst in the city, they could hold their own. Cyrus had an uncanny ability to sense danger, as well Alice and Will already knew who they were up against, so if he did show there was hope they'd all be able to take him down.

Emma didn't bother pointing out there was no magic where they were, so in all truth it would have made a lot more sense to either have left Cyrus in Storybrooke, or brought him in his bottle where he'd be harder to find. But she was just here to offer her services, as she did owe Rumpel.

And so they dropped the group off in a park, and went back towards the house that supposedly they'd find Bae in. Neither of them were certain if they'd find the fourteen year old boy that Rumpel remembered him as, an adult or an old man. Emma still could not wrap her mind around all these different realms, despite having been back to the Enchanted Forest. It was even more confusing when you tossed in the fact time moved differently in each one.

"Bloody cold out here, the least they could have done was left us in a coffee shop," Will grumbled, wrapping his arms tighter around his body. It never mattered to him how thick his jacket was, cold was cold and always seemed to settle right into his very bones. He glanced over at Cyrus who didn't seem overly concerned with the biting chill. "I would think you'd be the one to notice the cold worse than any of us, I would fancy you spent most of your time in warm climates."

"I'm a genie remember, I don't always feel things the same way as you," he reminded him, grinning.

"Don't say that so bloody loud, people around here will think you crazy and maybe have us all tossed in the nutter. Geez, we're not in Wonderland anymore, or the Enchanted Forest!" he hissed, making them all laugh.

"You're one to talk, babbling on about two other places that could get us locked up for being insane, I should know," Alice quipped, grinning widely. Awhile ago the thought of what had happened on her return after Cyrus' supposed death would have upset her, but now she had him back and was surrounded by friends. None of that mattered now, she hardly thought of that life.

Henry was busy kicking snow up in the air, wanting someone to play with him. There were some children in the park but they were already engaged in activities with their own friends, and he felt just shy enough not to ask to join in. Besides, he figured it best to stay with the people he'd arrived with. It likely wouldn't be wise to be separated from them, although he did know his way back to where Emma and Rumpel had located Bae, or where Rumpel's magic had located his long lost son.

Either way, this was boring. Will, Alice and Cyrus were talking amongst themselves, all the while keeping a close eye on him for fear he might take off on them. He had thought of taking off, but that had a way of turning around and biting him. Rumpel may not have magic right at that moment outside of Storybrooke, the only one still in possession of magic couldn't use it, but it didn't mean Emma wouldn't lay the law down on him.

But what he wouldn't give to just slip away and find out what exactly was going on with this father and son reunion.

* * *

"Infernal place, how can anyone endure all this noise?" Jafar hissed as he stepped out of the shadows, Hook close behind him.

The pirate was rather shocked at what had just happened. He could have sworn a second ago he was on his ship, that was until the sorcerer had instructed him to follow. He had done so, not thinking much of it until he'd found himself in a rather vacant alley way in possibly the one of the louder places he'd ever been to in his life. From his vantage point he could make out a sea of people moving about the streets, some carrying brightly coloured bags filled with parcels and others seemed to be talking into their hand, but to top if all off there were the curious carriages that moved far too swiftly and billowed some sort of strange smoke.

"Why are we here?" Hook asked even though he already knew the answer.

Jafar glanced at him, thoroughly annoyed. "The genie is here, as is the man you're seeking revenge on. This is a land without magic and as he was brought here by a powerful curse, once out of that town Storybrooke he loses all his power. If you're longing to kill him this will be your only chance. But first, we catch us a genie."

Hook just laughed at that. "Oh, it's that simple now is it? I suggested taking him while he was sleeping last night, it would have been simple! What is it with you sorcerers and the likes, always for the grand gestures?"

"Do not toy with me pirate. You want to kill this Dark One, do you not? This is your chance, and in doing so we may be able to force Alice's hand in making a wish. She has too much heart and will not allow anyone to suffer if she can prevent it," the sorcerer explained, much to Hook's annoyance.

"I want him dead, why would I want that girl to make a wish to have him restored to health?" he spat out. If he was going to kill Rumpelstiltskin he was going to make damn sure the job was done.

"I'm sorry, the idea of getting a few shots at him doesn't interest you? I thought you wanted him to suffer for all you suffered after the death of your lady love. Forgive me, I must have been mistaken," Jafar drawled, a smirk forming on his features.

Hook really hated when the man talked to him in that tone. It made him feel like he was a child. "I see your point, but she has two wishes left. I'm not going to give that crocodile a couple brushes with death just to entertain you."

Jafar grinned and waved his hand, in which a vial appeared. Hook recognized the colour of what was contained within. It was nightshade, the deadliest stuff he knew of. He wanted to know how Jafar had come by it, but decided against it. Sometimes it was just better to leave well enough alone and not ask when given things. "There is enough in here for two attempts, I do believe. If she wishes him back to health, which I assure you she shall, you can try again. Trust me when I say she will not wish him well immediately, nightshade can take days to work if you only brush him with it. That would be a good deal of suffering for all you have endured, would it not? Use the rest to kill him in a swifter manner the next time. There is a slim chance she may use the third wish to cure him once more, but it will depend on if she is secure in the knowledge of where the genie's bottle is. Once she makes her third wish he will be drawn back into his bottle and await a new master, as it should be. When he is in his bottle it is just a matter of having it in my possession, and then everything we desire shall be our's."

Hook raised an eyebrow questioningly at that. "Oh, and do we know where this bottle is?"

Right then he noticed a lithe figure moving in the shadows. He watched as a woman appeared holding a brass bottle in her slender hands. Jafar smiled at her and took the bottle from her when she offered it to him.

"We do now. Hook, I do not believe I've introduced you to the third member of our little party. Meet the Blue Fairy."

* * *

The daylight was waning fast, and Will was fairly convinced that Emma and Rumpel had decided to leave them all to freeze to death whilst they had one of those lovely TV moments of a perfect family reunion. He wasn't overly clear where Emma fit into it, but she was a nice looking girl, maybe if Bae was an adult he'd taken a shine to her and they all went out to grab something to eat.

No matter how you put it, Will just wanted to get in somewhere warm. Alice had taken to playing with Henry just to keep warm, whilst Cyrus seemed lost in his own thoughts again. He was envying the genie at that moment, as he didn't seem to be adversely affected by the cold. It was that or he was just so used to not letting anything bothering him show outwardly that he just wouldn't let on he was feeling a bit of a chill. He fancied that was more to the point, in all honesty. If the cold didn't bother him at all he wouldn't have been so bundled up.

"Bloody hell, how long does it take to say your bit and either have a big old father and son hug or shout at each other and toss the old man out?" Will complained, walking about in a bid to stay warm.

Cyrus wasn't paying much attention to Alice and Henry playing, or Will talking to himself whilst he paced around, he was rather lost in watching everything going on around him. This city certainly was a strange place, and he was so absorbed in what he was seeing that he failed to heed his instincts that something wasn't right. It wasn't until he felt someone grab him from behind that he realized something was wrong.

His struggles were quickly noticed by his three companions, who made to come to his aide but they were suddenly frozen to the spot where they stood. "What do you want?" Cyrus demanded, trying to break free but realized it wasn't going to happen. There was magic involved in this, and it was obviously strong enough to freeze everything around them as well, so to ensure this little scene did not perk the curiosity of anyone else.

"I want a lot of things, genie, but right now I'll take just having you in a place I can find you easily," a voice he didn't recognize drawled, walking around into his line of vision. By the way Will and Alice's eyes went wide at the sight of him, Cyrus had a good guess who it could be.

"I wasn't aware pirates had any talent in magic," he said, ceasing his struggling as he knew it was pointless. He could tell it wasn't Jafar's magic, but it was still strong enough to hold them all where they stood.

Hook shrugged, nodding to both Will and Alice who did not return the favour. "Ah, see that? I extend my hospitality to them on my ship, even brought them to Storybrooke so the little lass could find you, and they don't even acknowledge me. A nice thank you," he lamented. "And no, I have no idea how to use magic, but I have a couple companions who are quite talented in that particular field. One I do believe you know rather well."

At the mention of Jafar, Cyrus resumed the futile effort to break free from whatever was holding him, but with no avail. "I am not going back in that silver cage," he snapped, anger written on his face. He could not hide the dread that was in his eyes at the very thought of being put back in there, he feared that more than years at a time in his bottle. "Please, what do you want?"

Hook grinned, a wide, wicked smile full of malice as he swaggered over to Cyrus to look him right in the eyes. "Now that is what I like, when my captives grovel a little. It is simple really, I've been told there is a way to alter the laws of magic and you're the key. You see, it would appear you didn't just spring into existence, you used to be mortal. Sadly, for you, your family was rather wicked and you ended up paying for their evil ways. You were cursed into a life of servitude to teach your family a lesson but also to ensure you never used the dark magic your family was known for. Once that girl uses her last two wishes you'll belong to Jafar, and he knows how to work around your genie magic rules of only three wishes, and tap into that dark magic," he explained, running the tip of his hook alongside Cyrus's face. "And believe me, you will be powerless to stop it. You will do our bidding, genie, and there is nothing you can do to stop us."

Will could feel his blood starting to boil, he was getting sick and tired of all these greedy people that populated every realm he'd ever been in. Sure, he'd been a thief and stolen from people he shouldn't have, and maybe he deserved some bad things and more to fall upon his head but it didn't seem right that Alice and Cyrus both couldn't seem to have any peace. It always seemed to be the good people in life always paying for the mistakes and evils of others. When would the universe even this all out? "What could you possible want that requires all this?" he questioned, his voice tight with anger.

Hook whirled around and smiled. "Nothing much, just my love brought back from the beyond. I can't speak for the others, but that is what I want."

"I can't do that," Cyrus argued, baffled as to why people seemed to always be so insistent on that particular wish. He could empathise with the death of a loved one, he'd been with masters who had lost someone dear to them whilst he was in their service, he'd even watched as one of his masters died, he could understand the pain. That was always followed with wanting the person returned to life, and a lot of anger when Cyrus would have to remind them he could not do that. Time moved forward and sadly death was a part of being mortal.

"We know that, but once Jafar is done with you you'll be able to do anything we bid you to, like it or not," a voice said from the shadows.

Henry and Will both felt their jaws go slightly slack when the small, lithe form of the Blue Fairy walked out of the shadow of a nearby tree. A malevolent grin graced her face as she swept her gaze over Alice, Will and Henry before turning to let it rest on Cyrus. "I don't know what exactly Jafar is longing for, but I know what I want. Altering the laws of magic means I will have even more power over magic than even the Dark One, all is needed is to steal some of the dark essence locked away in you."

"That's horrible, why are you doing this?" Henry cried out, trying once more to move and still finding it impossible. It was obvious now who had cast a spell to keep them all in one place, and Henry had always thought she was their friend. In his story book she'd always seemed good, what had happened? He was also a little confused on how she could use magic outside of Storybrooke when Rumpel could not, but then reasoned if they were working with Jafar he must have provided them both with whatever they would need to achieve their joint goal.

Blue laughed slightly. "Because I'm tired of relying on fairy dust to do anything, or having to wave a stupid wand. I should have more power than that and since we've come to this realm it is harder to get it. Fairy dust isn't exactly plentiful and the fairies don't listen to me as they once did. When I'm done with this genie I'll have all the power I could have ever dreamed of, and even the Dark One and Regina won't try to toy with me," she explained.

"That's all well and good, but could you cast some spell to make it easier to move him? I get a feeling if you allow him to move again he's going to be one hell of a fighter," Hook stated, to which she simply waved her wand and Cyrus fell unconscious in the snow. "Well, that certainly works. Thanks love."

"Don't call me that," Blue snapped while Hook gathered Cyrus up in his arms.

Alice could hardly believe what was happen, and it was killing her that she was powerless to stop it. She knew fairies could be a little emotional, as Silvermist had proven, but she'd never heard of one with such evil intentions. She'd hardly had a full day before he was taken again.

"We'll get him back Alice, don't worry," Will soothed, just as they all suddenly felt the enchantment fall away. Her first move was to run towards the tree behind which both Hook and Blue had vanished, with Cyrus. She knew she'd find nothing, but she could not help herself.

A frustrated scream escaped her throat, this was just too much. Maybe Will was right, they should have stayed in Storybrooke, it might have been safer there. Or at least she thought it might have been, if Jafar had found them in this strange city he likely could have found them anywhere.

It was Henry who appeared to have the voice of reason in this whole situation. "We have to go tell my mum and Mr. Gold, they'll know what to do," he informed them as he took off back towards the building they were at.

Will grabbed Alice by the arm and dragged her along, despite her protests. She wasn't thinking clearly, that was more than obvious. And when Alice wasn't thinking clearly there was a very high chance she could make a stupid choice, which was something he would prefer she not do.

They'd find Cyrus, and they'd take care of Jafar and his little buddies once and for all.

* * *

Emma almost jumped a foot in the air when the door to the small apartment swung open. She'd been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she'd failed to hear the rather loud pounding of footsteps coming up the walk and into the house. The fact that her Neal and Rumpel's Bae were one in the same person was a little hard for her to swallow at the moment. She'd never wanted to see him again, and most certainly had no desire to see him with Henry in tow. She'd told him his father was dead, thinking it would protect him from any other heartache, but now she was going to have to explain that lie and fast.

All three in the room turned to see Henry burst through the door in a lather over something, a few steps behind him came Will dragging a rather distraught looking Alice. It didn't take her long to figure out what was wrong.

"I bloody well told you we never should have left Storybrooke!" Will shouted, letting go of Alice who just stood there looking like a lost little girl. Emma felt her heart go out to her, she'd only just met her but the girl seemed to have a lot of fire and spirit in her. She had experienced love and loss, but she could not imagine witnessing the love of her life being taken from her, twice over.

Neal turned from looking at his father, his train of thought derailed for a moment. "Who are these people and why does everyone seem to think they can just barge into my place uninvited?" he demanded.

"This is my son, Henry, and our friends Will and Alice," Emma introduced, as Will nodded towards Neal, still wearing an annoyed expression on his face.

"They're missing someone dearie. Where's Cyrus?" Rumpel inquired, a tightness in his tone. They were in a lot of trouble if Jafar had located them that easily, and grabbed the genie.

He knew the answer before it was even spoken. He muttered a curse and began to pace, to say this was not a good turn of events would be an understatement. He was even more agitated when Will added the sorcerer had sent Hook and Blue to do his dirty work.

He stopped in his tracks at that revelation. He'd always had a level of mistrust with the fairies, and Blue in particular. Now she had aligned herself with Jafar, of all people, all in the pursuit of power. It was right then he caught sight of Bae out of the corner of his eye and wondered if any of them even understood the higher cost of ultimate power. He most certainly had not when he'd become the Dark One, and he had a feeling he may never be able to atone for all the wrongs he had done in the eyes of his son.

"Did they say exactly what they were going to do?" he inquired, sitting on the window sill for a moment. They had to get back to Storybrooke that much was obvious. The bottle was there, but they had to know what exactly they could be dealing with first.

Will explained it all, every little detail as he knew Rumpel liked to know everything. The longer he talked, the more he realized how screwed they really were. They were stuck somewhere without magic, they had no idea where exactly Hook and Blue had taken Cyrus or even where Jafar was. They didn't even know if he was in this realm, they could be taking the genie to a different realm altogether, which would only complicate matters more.

Once Will ended the tale, and before anyone else could speak, Neal jumped in.

"So, you come to find me and have some heartfelt reunion, which by the way I never wanted, and now I find out you have some sorcerer from a Disney movie after you and you had a genie with you? I left the Enchanted Forest to get away from all this, why would you think I'd want to be dragged right back into it all?" he asked, looking angrily at everyone in the room.

"I had no idea this was going to happen Bae, and you're just making a bad situation worse. Considering you're from the Enchanted Forest you should be able to comprehend the gravity of this situation," Rumpel reprimanded, standing up and walking over to his son.

Neal huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was living my life just fine, I don't need this and I don't want to be dragged back into it. This really isn't my concern at all."

Something in Will snapped, and he found himself running at the mouth before he even had a chance to think better of it. "Now you listen here Baelfire, you might not think this is a big thing but trust me when I say it is. You don't mess with Jafar, he is the most terrifying person you could ever run across. You think your dad there was scary at one time? The stories I hear about him are nothing compared to Jafar, that man is ruthless and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He's been hunting Cyrus down for longer than he can even remember, and he's caught him once only to have him get away. You can be sure he won't allow that to happen again. Unless you want to see some crazy evil let loose on this lovely realm you call home, you might want to start caring, just a little. Not to mention it is rather cold hearted to not care about the fate of someone else, whether you know them or not."

Neal didn't say anything at first, just looked at Will in shock. "I didn't say that I don't care about this friend of yours or what his fate is, but with all consideration when you play with magic you tend to get burned."

That seemed to snap Alice back. She strode over and gave Neal a sharp slap across the face. "Magic always comes at a price, but after hearing what Hook said to us I'd say Cyrus has more than paid. Now, either you're going to help us or you can stay in this miserable place you call a home. It doesn't make any difference to me."

"I think it is time you all left," Neal stated, pointing to the door.

"And good riddance to you as well," Will snarled as he exited, the rest slowly following him out. He could see Rumpel was torn as he walked out with them, but in all honesty there were some things more important than trying to talk any sense into his son.

They had to find Jafar, and fast. The man was getting desperate and it was only a matter of time before he tried forcing Alice into making her last two wishes.

He hoped the resolution to all this would come quickly, and without any casualties.

* * *

Jafar watched the sun set over the small town of Storybrooke through the only window in the tiny room he was currently in. It was quite a strange little town, filled with people he'd heard of in passing back in his own realm. The Evil Queen was rather well known, although not as feared outside the Enchanted Forest, and of course he'd learned of the Dark One through his own quest for the ultimate dark power one could find.

He glanced over at the bed in the corner, grinning. He was only two wishes away from owning said power, it still surprised him at times he'd even figured out and tracked down which genie he needed. The old books he'd read had never said too much on the son, mainly the father and the sisters. It was a stroke of good fortune when he'd stumbled on one old, forgotten book that finally named the genie, as well as described his bottle and what he looked like. It was in that moment Jafar realized his fantasy had finally been made possible. All he had to do was find the right spells and of course, the genie.

Nothing worthwhile ever came easy, first had been the one man who was foolish enough to wish the genie away for his protection, not thinking of his own well being. The very thought of risking one's life for someone like Cyrus was baffling, and rather stupid in the sorcerer's opinion. Jafar had no idea how exactly Cyrus knew he was being hunted, he thought he'd been fairly discreet, but still he'd known about him. Not that it had mattered in the long run, there was little the genie could do to out run him.

That was until Alice and her misguided notion about love.

From what he'd heard from the Red Queen, Alice was a lonely girl who likely had seen something in the genie that spoke to her. He supposed the same could be said for Cyrus, but it still shouldn't have altered the master/servant relationship. It annoyed him that he was forced to chase down Cyrus, and now he was still stuck in limbo waiting for the girl to use her last two wishes.

He was assured she would be using one of them very soon, and then he just had to figure out a way to force her into the last wish, and thereby freeing Cyrus from her will. Once the last wish was granted, he would return to his bottle and would finally belong to him. It was fortunate the Blue Fairy had managed to relieve the Dark One of the bottle so easily. He would be sure to reward her with a swift death for her service, unlike Hook who he planned to make suffer for a few passing moments before sending him to the great beyond.

There was one thing that struck him as ironic; Alice wished Cyrus to safety and he somehow ended up in the company of the man in possession of the dark magic that resulted in him being cursed to the life of a genie for all eternity. Of course Cyrus hadn't known any of this, and likely still did not, but it struck the sorcerer as a rather strange coincidence.

From the accounts he'd read in dusty old tomes, Jafar had discerned the power in the dagger was slightly diluted from what it was originally. Whether that had happened when the power was torn from the man's body or the daughters had done that on purpose, that was not in the books. The Dark One seemed to be restricted by some of the laws of magic. Mainly that whoever held the power didn't seem to have the ability to change the past and bring back the dead. He'd heard enough stories of the man known as Rumpelstiltskin killing people magically and there was a rumour he'd bottled love at one point. If that was true he did not know and really didn't care to know.

He wasn't concerned with love, or bringing anyone back from the dead. He could kill people easily enough and there were certain points in the past he would love to change but wasn't overly worried about doing it. No, he wanted to be all powerful, and having the power to do such things would make him something akin to a god to the mortals in this realm. None would have to know he was actually siphoning the power off someone else; he'd still be the one wielding it.

Originally he planned to return to his own realm, but there was a certain amount of attraction to ruling over this one. For a little while at any rate, once he bored of it he could return to his own with the genie.

Movement in the corner of his vision took his mind off his musings, and he turned his attention to the bed where Cyrus was beginning to rouse. When Hook and Blue had arrived back in Storybrooke with him, Jafar had pointed towards a little room in the back of the small house they were using. He'd outfitted it just for the genie, as he couldn't exactly stick him in a cage this time around. It would be a pretty useless effort as once he owned him Jafar intended to put such a fear in him he'd never stray far, for the fear of his life or the lives of those he cared about.

He'd kill the girl, and his friends regardless, but not right away. There was something to be said for lulling someone into a false sense of security at times.

"I see you are awake," he commented when Cyrus began to sit up amongst all the blankets on the bed his allies had unceremoniously dumped the genie on.

Jafar couldn't help the thrill that went through him when Cyrus cringed at the sound of his voice. The defiant, clever genie from before seemed to be defeated this time around, but Jafar knew better than to believe that. He had proven to be rather resourceful the last time. There was no way he'd become complacent and let things slide again, one step out of line this second time around and Cyrus would learn exactly why he shouldn't have even considered escaping.

"It is good to see you looking so healthy, you were looking a touch worse for wear the last time I laid eyes on you," Jafar said, to which Cyrus only glared at him.

"I would suspect you knew as to why that was," he answered.

Jafar shrugged, turning his attention to his staff. "Ah yes, that silver business. If that girl would have just made her wishes you wouldn't have had to be around it as long as you were. You may fair better this time, I have made you a bit of a room, but there is silver in here, make no mistake. You will not be getting out. Not until I have what I want."

"She won't make her wishes, she's strong willed and stubborn. You know she'll come for me, if I don't manage to get away first on my own," Cyrus countered, rubbing the back of his neck. Whoever had decided to drop him in the mess of pillows and blankets hadn't been too kind about how exactly he'd landed, if the aches and pains he was feeling were any testament to the treatment he'd received.

The sorcerer grinned. "Oh, I know she'll come for you and I know this time you will not be escaping. You see, genie, any means of escape has that lovely metal you have such a burning dislike for. So you may grab at that door handle all you like, or the window frame. All you'll do is give yourself a nasty burn. And she will use her wishes; you can trust me on that. The one thing your Alice has is a heart, and she cannot bear to see someone in pain. Her second wish should be made before the end of tomorrow, so just be prepared for it. The pirate should have enacted the first part of his revenge by now."

"It isn't as though I have a choice to grant it or not," Cyrus snapped back, fighting back the urge to lash out at Jafar. He knew that wouldn't end well for him and decided it was better to just stick to the verbal sparring. It was less likely to end in any injury, he hoped anyway. He'd also noted the man was holding something he was positive Rumpel had called a letter opener, and he would hazard to guess the item was silver. "And I've managed to get away from you before."

"No, you don't have a choice, but I thought I would warn you regardless. And I do remember your doomed escape attempts back in Wonderland, I always wondered why you continued with such foolish antics. I always caught you, and although I did enjoy watching you squirm as I put you back in your lovely cage it did grow tiresome. I would advise you just wait it out this time, you'll be back in your bottle very soon," Jafar commented, standing to leave the room. "Anyway, I do have other matters to attend to; I just wanted to make sure you would wake up after all that had happened with my allies."

When his hand touched the handle he heard the genie speak again. "You realize even if she makes the last two wishes just because I return to my bottle does not mean you've won, I will still be out of your reach."

Jafar turned and smiled at Cyrus, a wicked grin of delight. "I am counting on it, as I now have it in my possession."

Cyrus' eyes went wide at that, he had thought it was still safe with Belle. He had no reason to think the sorcerer was toying with him; he would not have gone to all this trouble again without already having the bottle.

As the door closed and he heard the click of the lock, although he didn't understand the point to that as he couldn't exactly open the door without inflicting injury upon himself, a wave of hopelessness washed over him. He'd never been one to give into despair, but right at that moment he could not help it. Once again he was trapped, Jafar had new allies who appeared about as ruthless as he was himself and they had his bottle.

He knew one day the freedom he had been enjoying was going to come to an end, but he had not prepared for it to be so soon. Unless some miracle happened, Jafar would have everything he could ever want and he was completely powerless to stop it.

And yet, when he thought of Alice, and all his new friends and the little family that had begun to form with Belle and Rumpel in Storybrooke, the despair over his situation began to dissipate. He'd escaped Jafar several times back in Wonderland, ignoring they never worked out, and the last capture over an escape attempt had been only hours before Alice had wished him to safety, he would not go down without a fight. He would get away once more, and they would figure out a way to stop Jafar for good this time.

_AN: Two chapters today, a day earlier as I'm rather snowed in and I refuse to go back out and shovel myself out again. Ironic these two chapters mention snow quite a bit._

_I'm glad people are enjoying the story still, and thank you ever so kindly for the reviews. I hope it continues to be enjoyable, and glad people like the little family dynamic I've created with Rumpel, Belle and Cyrus. :) I do plan to do more with that, I have a Christmas one shot/short story I want to do up once this one is complete._


	9. Wishes, Escapes and Fears

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Upon hearing a vehicle stop outside, Belle jumped out of the chair she was seated in and dropped her book in her haste to greet Rumpel and the rest of her friends. They'd been gone for four days and she'd half expected at least a phone call when they'd arrived at their destination, or after they'd found Bae.

Instead she'd heard nothing, which she found odd but fancied maybe Rumpel was caught up with his son, there would be a lot of catching up to do. She was a little wary of how a reunion with Bae might change the dynamics of their little family unit that had developed since Cyrus had arrived. She rather enjoyed this family that was slowly forming, and would hate to see it threatened by a newcomer. She didn't worry about Alice; she rather liked her and was more than happy to have her around. But Bae, on the other hand, she wasn't too sure what to make of him. He'd been gone out of Rumpel's life for so long, and they had parted on most unfortunate terms, she worried the son would simply break the heart of the father in this case.

She assured herself though; Rumpel would always have her and Cyrus, no matter what. She mentally added Alice to the list, the girl had only arrived a few days prior but she knew Rumpel was beginning to see her as a daughter and it was fairly obvious she was longing for some sort of father figure in her life. Even Belle felt a slightly motherly overtone towards both their new friends from Wonderland. If things were patched up with Bae, she was more than happy to welcome him with open arms as well.

Her thoughts were cut short when the door swung open and she saw Will walk in with Emma, and between them was Rumpel looking rather worse for wear. Panic washed over her face as she rushed over to help them bring him to the chesterfield. She didn't even notice Alice walk in with Henry and another man she'd never seen before in her life at first. When she did, it actually took her a moment more to realize someone was missing from the group.

"Where's Cyrus?" she asked, hoping he was just trailing behind.

A pained expression washed over Alice's face, giving Belle all the answers she needed before Will answered. "He was captured again by Jafar, the ruthless bugger sent some new lackeys and caught up with us. We've spent the last few days trying to find him, but had to halt everything when Hook came along and attacked Gold with nightshade. That rather forced us to abandon our search and return to Storybrooke, before he could try something else or attack anymore of us."

"Who's Hook?" she inquired, kneeling down beside where Rumpel lay on the chesterfield. The name seemed familiar to her, as though it was something out of a book. Goodness knows she'd read most in the town library by this point.

It was the stranger that answered this time. "His name is Killian Jones, or better known as Hook. He's a pirate, normally you'd find him in Neverland but I guess this Jafar had need of him. And I'm Baelfire, but I go by Neal now."

Belle nodded and introduced herself as the man she now knew as Rumpel's son came over beside her. She could see the distress clearly written on his face, although she had no idea if they'd patched things up it was more than obvious the thought of losing his father was enough for him to set things aside for a moment.

Henry stood off to the side, his mind reeling. Not only had he just learned that his father was not dead, but he was Baelfire, making Rumpel his grandfather. It was a lot to take in, and was made all the more difficult by Hook attacking them and Cyrus being taken before their very eyes. Add in the fact Blue wasn't exactly the good fairy they all thought her to be, it really was more than enough to deal with.

He kept running over the events of that day, wondering if maybe he hadn't been playing with Alice just maybe none of this would have happened. Although Will was closer at hand when it all happened, so it is possible if he hadn't been muttering to himself he'd have noticed Hook. And then of course there was the fact Cyrus had a strange talent for knowing when something wasn't right, if he hadn't been distracted by all the strange sights, there was a chance he could have gotten away.

He knew there was very little point in worrying about the 'what ifs' of the situation, what was done was done and they simply had to try to fix it. Although he couldn't fathom how that would be accomplished; from what he'd been hearing from everyone nightshade was deadly and incurable. Rumpel may not be in the running for a congeniality award, but Henry didn't want to see him die. This was his grandfather, after all, and he could tell the man was very important to Belle. Not to mention he could only imagine how upset Cyrus might be after they found him, only to discover Rumpel was gone. Henry realized they'd formed a little family, and he would hate to see it destroyed with Rumpel's death.

That also left the question of what would happen to his powers. They were all due to a dagger, one that only the man himself knew the location of. At least they hoped that Jafar hadn't found that as well, it was bad enough they had to worry about him finding the bottle. Belle had assured them all not to worry about it; it was locked away safely in a cupboard where no one would find it. So if worse came to worse and Alice did end up using her wishes, Cyrus would be returned to them.

It was the only comforting thought at the moment; most of the adults were in a thither. No one knew what to do about the nightshade, Baelfire had insisted there was no known cure, citing he'd seen people poisoned by it before and knew it was a very painful way to die.

Henry sat and watched everyone, Belle and Baelfire were either in tears or close to it, Will and Alice were whispering softly to each other in what looked like a bit of a heated conversation from the look on their faces, whilst Emma seemed completely beside herself over what to do. She'd mentioned calling Regina, but magic wasn't going to cure this, they had returned to Storybrooke on Rumpel's insistence. He'd wanted to see Belle before he died, and though he'd not said it they could tell he was saddened he wouldn't see the genie again before passing on. He had simply stated he wanted to die with whatever family he had around him, as he had no spells, potions or charms to cure this. Magic sadly wasn't an answer to everything, even if you did originate in a world that most consider a place for children stories. It was a place where there was always a happily ever after, unlike this world that seemed to only promise yet more struggles at every turn.

Henry wished he could do something to help, and that was when it hit him. Why couldn't a wish restore Rumpel's health? Surely Alice would not be opposed to using a wish to help the person who had taken in the love of her life?

As Henry pondered this, Will and Alice were actually arguing that very idea. It wasn't an argument, per say, just weighing their options as it was more than obvious she was being pushed into using the wish to save another. Jafar knew she had a heart and would not let someone suffer if she could help it, but she was also worried what this would mean for her and Cyrus. There was only one wish left and she'd promised it to Will for helping her, she didn't want to go back on that promise.

"Look, I don't care about the bloody wish, you can keep the last one or give it to me and I swear I won't use it, but it would be wrong to let a man die when you have the means to cure him," Will argued, getting thoroughly frustrated.

Alice knew he was right, she just loathed the idea her hand was being forced into using the wish. Now that she knew Hook was working with Jafar she suspected this attempt on Rumpel's life was a means to an end. Hook did want the man dead, but Jafar also wanted her to use her last two wishes and the sooner the better for him.

If she used the wish it just meant Hook would come back and try another way to kill the man he swore vengeance on and what of her last wish then? There had to be a way to word this wish so that at least Hook wouldn't keep up his attempts on the other man's life. She had to word it just right, she knew if she didn't things could take a turn that would be worse than the predicament they were currently in.

As Alice weighed her words, Belle was oblivious to everything going on around her, all that mattered was the man she loved was dying. What would she do without him? Of course life would move on, but she wasn't ready to give up this part of her life just yet. It truly was not fair.

"Don't cry Belle," Rumpel told her, taking one of her hands in his. "You're too young to be worried about going into mourning over someone like me. Besides, you'll still have Cyrus once they find him."

"Now don't you dare tell me what to do, I'll cry if I want to. I don't want you to leave just yet, and I'm sure Cyrus will be upset to find out you passed away. We both need you; you're what holds our little family together! Can't your magic cure you?" she asked in a voice thick with tears.

Rumpel shook his head, sadly magic didn't always work that way. There was one magic that likely could cure him, but he didn't want to bring it up to her. That was all on Alice, and although he wanted her to use a wish he wouldn't ask it of her.

It was a bad situation, no matter what choice Alice made it wasn't exactly a good one. Use a wish to save another, or keep the wish and let the person die. It was lose/lose for her, although Rumpel did muse if she did use it to cure him of the nightshade at least she'd have one powerful ally at her side against Jafar. There was always Regina, but her whims were capricious at best. Mind he had a feeling she would be on their side after the genie helped in mending her strained relationship with Henry.

Alice was conflicted, and that was putting it lightly. The minutes were ticking by and it was more than obvious Rumpel was not getting any better. If Neal, or Bae, or whatever he was called, were to be believed there was no known cure. Alice knew she could cure him, but she couldn't be sure if there wouldn't be some sort of catch to the wish. It was fairly straight forward, she wanted Rumpel cured of the nightshade poisoning, it wasn't as if she was wishing for anything too complicated.

"I take it you've made a decision?" Will inquired, even though he could tell by the look on her face she'd come to one. After all the time spent together in Wonderland he could read her like a book.

She nodded. "I can't let him die, I just can't. I only hope Cyrus understands that I had to make the wish, and it seemed to me they are friends so he shouldn't be angry."

Will grinned sadly at that. "Technically he shouldn't be angry to start with; it is kind of his job to grant wishes. But that is neither here nor there, so long as you are positive the wish shouldn't have a catch to it then I say go for it."

"I can't think of any, and he never told me of any instance where this sort of wish backfired. It seems a wish has a string attached if it is for a selfish reason, but I wouldn't call this selfish. I suppose, I might as well get to making the wish before it is too late," she contemplated.

"I can't argue with that, and I would rather have him breathing and on our side than dead, seeing as he's the only one in our lovely group that can use magic," he agreed.

Alice took in a deep breath and walked over to where Rumpel, Belle and Neal were. How she longed to turn back time before everything started going wrong. Before they'd traveled to the Boiling Sea and her whole world started to unravel. She'd wondered more than once since that day why life couldn't be simple, maybe she should have heeded his warning that life with him wouldn't be easy. She swore at times he'd been able to predict the future in that very moment, because since the day he'd proposed nothing had been simple or easy.

What should have been the happiest moment of her life had been torn apart, and now she was standing in a crowded room about to use yet another wish. The first wish had been so easy and she never thought she'd been forced into making any more after that. She should have known Jafar wouldn't give up.

Her resolve to use the wish faltered slightly, if Will wasn't careful he could mistakenly use the last wish and that would be the end of it. Except she knew the bottle was safe with Belle and Rumpel, so in the long run she could find her love again easily enough, and she was sure if one of them became Cyrus' new master they would not be against them being together. Rumpel had already extended an invitation for her to take up one of the extra rooms in the house for her own, once he cleaned out some of his belongings in it. The idea had appealed to her in so many ways, she liked Rumpel and Belle upon first meeting them, and being with Cyrus somewhere safe was a wonderful thought. A place they could call home, and with people who cared about them. It was something she wasn't willing to let go of easily, not after what happened upon returning to England after she'd thought Cyrus had died in the Boiling Sea.

She sighed, she knew this was the right decision. With her last wish, it was the only option and although this time her hand had been forced, she could tell there was no other option once more. She couldn't bear to see Belle's tears of sorrow, it reminded her too much of her own heartbreak when she'd thought Cyrus' was dead. Even Rumpel's son was beginning to break down at the thought of his father dying. She didn't have any sort of relationship with her father, but she longed for it. There was no reconciliation for them, in her mind, but she could see for this father and son there was a chance. And she wasn't going to deny them that.

"I wish for Rumplestiltskin to be returned to his full health, immune to nightshade," she declared, her tone steady and full of conviction.

Belle felt her jaw go slack when she heard Alice speak, the idea of a wish curing Rumpel had never even occurred to her. Even if it had she wouldn't have asked but she appreciated the sacrifice this woman was making.

A golden glow enveloped Rumpel, which they all concluded was Cyrus' magic curing him. It took a few minutes, but before long Rumpel was looking as he had before Hook had attacked with the poison. When the magic dissipated Belle wrapped her arms around him and sobbed tears of joy.

"Come now dearie, there is no need for tears now," Rumpel soothed, smiling as he rested his chin on the top of her head after lightly kissing her hair. He glanced over at Alice who was smiling, although he detected a touch of sadness in her eyes. He thanked her, to which she merely nodded.

Alice knew she had done the right thing, now she just hoped Will would be smart and not use the wish. If he desired to do so, she silently prayed he would hold off until they'd finally managed to get rid of Jafar and his new allies. She would prefer he not use his promised wish, but could not begrudge him wanting it. So long as their enemies were gone and the bottle was in someone's hand at the time, he could wish for anything he liked that stayed within the laws of magic.

She started a bit when she heard Emma talking beside her. "That was really selfless of you," the woman commented, a warm grin on her face.

Alice shrugged, she didn't really see it as selfless. There was no other option. "I couldn't let him die, I know Jafar is forcing me to use my wishes but there is one between him owning Cyrus and I only hope Will does not use it."

"I won't, why do you have such little faith in me?" Will asked, overhearing what she'd said from his perch on the window seat.

"Experience I guess. Just be sure you are very careful how you speak, do not use that word no matter what," Alice instructed him, which was answered with him nodding and trying to wave her off.

Henry was happy things had worked out, although he'd feel better if none of it had happened to start with. One thing he pointed out was they might want to call Regina, there was strength in numbers and from the sounds of it they needed all the help they could get.

That was a sentiment no one could argue with. Emma pulled out her mobile phone and dialed Regina's number as Rumpel got up off the chesterfield and went for his books. "I have another locator spell that should be able to narrow down where Cyrus is, and I'll be damned if Jafar is going to take him from us."

Bae looked at his father oddly, still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He grew up around magic, but had been away from it so long he found it strange to see again. "Why is this genie so important to you all?" he asked.

"Because, dearie, he's family. I made the mistake of abandoning you Bae, I won't make the mistake of leaving another family member behind again."

* * *

Cyrus sighed, he didn't know what had forced Alice to use a wish this time but he was truly starting to feel that deep seated despair settling in. He knew she'd promised the last wish to the Knave of Hearts. He was a good, true and well meaning friend but Cyrus worried that he might run at the mouth and accidently make a wish.

He couldn't afford to be granting anymore wishes, not now. Not when Jafar had him as well as his bottle in his possession. He knew that no one else would be aware of that, Belle would be assured the bottle would still be where she had locked it away. It worried him that they might decide that Alice would be wise to use the last wish to draw him back into his bottle, thereby ending this ordeal.

And what an ordeal it was, this time Jafar delighted in coming to terrorize him every chance he got. He'd regale him with tales of all the horrible things he'd make Cyrus do once he was in control of all the dark magic locked within him, as it turned out he could not just take it from the genie. He'd actually ventured to ask about that, and as he'd suspected to take the magic would dilute it and Jafar would not have that. He would simple control Cyrus and siphon the magic out of him to use for his own pleasure.

Jafar had even told him all he knew of the genie's past life. He had a feeling he did that to unsettle him, and in a way it almost worked. But he knew the past couldn't be changed, he had seen so many masters yearning for that and it had only caused them unspeakable pains. It did surprise him when he'd been told how his sisters had killed their father after he'd been cursed, and it didn't take him long to make a connection between the dagger and the Dark One. It was possible that was why he'd never feared the darkness he felt from Rumpel; technically it was a familiar darkness that he'd grown up with in a long forgotten past.

When the sorcerer realized that was not bothering him, he'd gone on to tell him what he would do to his friends, or more to the point, make Cyrus do to his friends. When he bored of that, he then divulged what he intended to do to both the Blue Fairy and Hook. Cyrus tried to pretend he didn't care the two that had caught him and dragged him back into this hell were going to die, but he couldn't deny he did not want to see them harmed. Maybe it was just an old habit, no matter how awful his masters were; he never wanted to see them harmed. Although Jafar was an exception to that rule, he couldn't help entertaining the thought of what Rumpel and even Regina might do to the sorcerer, given the chance.

It actually made him wonder what had become of the Red Queen. Although he knew there was nothing redeemable in Jafar, the few times he'd been left alone in her company he could see something in her. Every so often he could see a flicker of regret or even sympathy flash through her blue eyes, but it never lasted. He could tell she hadn't always been the cold and power driven queen he knew her as, and he was curious what had made her change.

It was right then something in him snapped; he was so tired of constantly being at the mercy of other's. It might be his lot in life, but at the moment he wasn't under the power of any of his masters who treated him as if he was nothing more than a magical entity there to solely grant their wishes. Alice treated him like a person; she was the first person in a long time that had seen him as something more than a compliant servant. She saw him as she would any other human, despite the fact he actually wasn't one.

Or he wasn't one anymore, and never would be again. That really didn't matter to him though, from what he'd been told it likely was for the best those people had cursed him to this life. He didn't like it, and a small part inside of him wished he could exact some form of revenge on them, but he knew they were all long dead and he had lived long enough to see what revenge and hate did to a soul. He would not go down that path.

He looked out the window, noting that he could see the clock that overlooked the town. He wasn't exactly sure where Jafar was keeping him but at least it was still in Storybrooke. Hook had just left the room not an hour ago, and the pirate being slightly over confident about the silver fixtures in the room had failed to lock the door. He obviously did not heed Jafar's warnings about how cunning Cyrus could be when he put his mind to it.

He really did love how people always underestimated him, thinking he'd fall into line with their idea of how he should act. One day he'd become the compliant genie once again, who's purpose was to grant wishes and comply to whatever his master said but at that moment he was a man separated from those he loved and he knew they reciprocated those feelings. He was not going to allow them to put themselves in peril on his account if he could get away on his own.

Within the span of a few minutes he'd torn one of the cushions on the bed apart and wrapped the material around his hand. The silver could not burn him if it didn't make contact with bare skin, and with the door unlocked he could at the very least get out of the room. So long as Jafar was nowhere near he could likely make it out of the house as well.

Quickly he turned the handle, and opened the door. One glance told him no one was in the hall, and he knew Blue had her own place to stay in the town so that was one person who could use magic against him out of the picture. He quietly shut the door to the room behind him and made his way to the staircase, still clutching the torn piece of cloth in his hand. He was not taking chances there was more silver in the house, not when he could feel freedom so close at hand.

At the bottom of the stairs he was startled when he heard voices. They were quite loud and nearby. But he was so near escaping he couldn't tolerate the thought of turning back now and returning to that little prison. It looked like a small bedroom, but all it was to him was a different type of cage, and he was tired of being a captive to greedy, selfish people.

Quietly he moved down the hallway on the main floor of the house, his heart beating faster as he moved closer to the voices. The fact he didn't recognize them disturbed him greatly, not to mention the conversation he could make out seemed rather random and out of place.

He stopped outside of the room the voices were coming from, and chanced peeking through the half open door. Inside the room sat Hook, lounging on an oversized chair with a glass of some amber liquid in his hand. Cyrus guessed it to be rum, or something similar, as the man normally did smell of it as the day drew longer. Cyrus was well acquainted with the stuff; he'd had many masters who enjoyed partaking in too much drink.

Still, there was no one else in the room, which baffled him. Where were the voices coming from? He scanned the room, looking for other people only to discover it was that box Charming had tried to show him and Belle. Hook was watching some moving picture on the box the humans had created for entertainment, and had it playing rather loud.

Right in that moment Cyrus understood the concept of banging one's head against a wall in frustration. He'd been worrying himself over absolutely nothing, and likely wasted precious time trying to discern what he was hearing. At least Hook had the thing playing loud enough he would be able to sneak out without alerting at least one of his captors.

Jafar on the other hand, he wasn't too sure where that man was. Cyrus dared to hope he was engrossed in a spell book, and wouldn't look in on him anytime soon. The front door of the house was only a few feet away and he was certain he would not be able to endure failure now.

Quickly he made a dash for the door, grasping the handle with his covered hand just to be safe. A rush of cold air greeted him, as well as a bit of blowing snow. He was far from dressed for the cold, lacking shoes or a coat in the very least, but he didn't care in that moment. He had to get away, he had no idea where exactly he was but was confident someone would help him.

He ran out into the frigid air, turning towards what looked to lead to the more populated part of the town. There was no stopping now, although he did mentally kick himself for failing to close the door in his rush. Hopefully Hook was too engrossed in the magical box or had drank enough to have his senses dulled. So long as he could get to his friends and warn Will against using the wish, that was all that mattered.

Cyrus was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't even see the person in front of him, until they both landed unceremoniously on the frozen ground. "Would you watch where you're going?" a female voice shouted, one he knew to be Regina.

Regina was about to give the person who had knocked her over a good tongue lashing, when she looked and saw it was Cyrus. She had just an hour earlier received a phone call from Emma, letting her know they had returned with Baelfire but Cyrus had been taken while they were in the city. That at least explained the wild look in his eyes and the fact he was far from dressed for the weather.

She leaned over and extended a hand to help him to his feet, at the same time creating a jacket and boots with her magic for him. He accepted both her hand and the items gratefully. "What on earth are you doing out here so underdressed?" she asked, motioning for him to walk with her.

"Jafar has arrived, and he has new allies. They caught me and brought me back here, I've been locked up for the past few days and only now have managed to escape. I must get to Alice and warn her against using the last wish, her and Will," he explained, urgency in his voice.

"I heard she used one to cure Rumpel of nightshade, but what is so important about the last one? I was told your bottle is still locked away in Rumpel's house, won't you be drawn back in if she uses the wish?" she inquired, slightly confused. She didn't know all that much about genies, other than the one she had known back in the Enchanted Forest was easily played and rather glib. She had a feeling though Cyrus wasn't of that temperament. From the way the king had spoken of Sidney upon finding his lamp he was a bit flippant, Cyrus seemed to be more along the lines of how she thought a genie would act: obedient, but he still had a fire in him that he kept hidden.

He shook his head at her question, wanting to ask if she could just use her magic to take them to where his friends were. "Jafar has it, I'm not sure how he got his hands on it but if the last wish is used I'll be in his possession."

Something about that didn't set well with Regina. Maybe it was from feeling like she was a pawn in a bigger game as a child with her mother, or the fact she'd felt like she was just some pretty prize to her husband, but hearing someone call them self a possession rather set off something in her. "You're not some possession to be owned, Cyrus," she firmly told him.

"I appreciate the sentiment Regina, but I am. So long as someone holds my bottle, they own my will. Between masters I have nothing, I stay inside my bottle and wait, that is all there is for me in my never ending existence. With Alice I have begun to experience what life can be, but in the end I still belong to her. She does not see it that way, but that is how it is," he answered as someone pulled over on the side of the road.

"You and I are going to have a long, long talk when this is over Cyrus, but it is your magic that belongs to your masters, not you," she informed him, turning her attention to the person in the car. "What do you want Charming?"

David grinned warmly at them both. "I saw you both walking and thought you might appreciate a ride back into town. It is a bit of a walk from out here, and you seemed to be in a hurry from the look on your face," he explained, nodding towards Cyrus.

The genie laughed a bit, appreciative of the offer. He wanted to get to his destination before Will accidently used the wish. Will was a good person, but he could be a touch careless with his words.

Once they were both in the vehicle, David inquired as to why they were so far outside of town. Regina answered she had simply decided to go for a walk and had literally been run into by Cyrus. That of course brought him to telling his tale, which seemed to rile David up slightly. He might be in a different realm but he was still a prince and felt it was his duty to protect his people.

"Calm yourself there Charming, there isn't much you can do against a sorcerer. And Jafar is a powerful one at that," Regina chided, feeling at times she was dealing with small children rather than rational adults when it came to some people in the small town. "What do you figure you're going to do? Go at him with your pretty sword? You still haven't won a sparring match with Cyrus for crying out loud, I don't think you'll take Jafar down all that easily."

"Well there has to be something we can do, we can't let him to take advantage of a friend," he retorted, his frustration coming through in his voice.

"Oh, and did you think I was just going to hand Cyrus back to the crazy sorcerer? I would like nothing more than to get that bottle back and send Jafar to some long forgotten realm to rot, but I'm not exactly sure how we're going to accomplish that. I'm not kidding when I tell you he's powerful, we need a lot more than you and a pointy stick to do something about him," she explained in a tense tone.

Suddenly David and Regina began to notice a slightly golden glow coming from the back seat. Regina turned around as David pulled over, her eyes going wide. Cyrus was looking absolutely panicked as a golden shimmer formed between his hands. "As you wish, mistress mine," he softly said, his tone sad.

Both watched as the magic dissipated and the jacket and all else he was wearing began to melt back into his traditional clothing. Terror was more than evident in his eyes, as he looked to them both. "Please, find help," he pleaded as he slowly dissolved into an orange mist and was gone.

The two sat there for a second in shock, not comprehending what they'd just seen. It was Regina who came to her senses first. "Get us to Gold's place and make it fast, whoever used that last wish has me to answer to," she snarled as David put the car in gear and rushed towards their destination.

"You mind explaining to me what just happened?" he inquired, not taking his eyes from the road.

"What do you think? Some idiot used Alice's last wish, and if memory serves me right Emma told me it was that Knave of Hearts who had the it, as payment for helping Alice to find Cyrus back in Wonderland. If she hasn't strung him up already, I know I certainly will," she spat out.

David grinned as he sped up, one of the perks of knowing his daughter was sheriff: he didn't have to worry about a speeding ticket. It wasn't like she played favourites, but he was certain she'd at least listen to his reasoning. This did fall under a case of life and death; whatever Jafar had planned for the genie could very well end poorly for everyone in Storybrooke.

Regina looked over at him oddly. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing, it just seems strange to see you care so much about someone you hardly know," he answered as he pulled onto the road Rumpel's home was located on.

"Yeah well, I can care about people you know. I'm not completely heartless. And when someone refers to them self as a possession it tends to rile me up a bit," she snapped as the vehicle came to a stop and earning her an odd look from David.

Before they even entered the house they could hear noise, which sounded a lot like yelling. Regina didn't even bother to knock, she waved her hand and the door swung wide open for her. Both she and David entered to find a very angry Alice shouting at Will, whilst Belle bolted into another room, holding a small key in her hand.

"I wouldn't bother, Cyrus isn't in your cabinet," she announced, making everyone stop short.

"What do you mean?" Belle asked with worry. No one else but her and Rumpel knew where the bottle was hidden. Except for Cyrus that is.

David was the one to interject then. "Jafar has it, I don't know how he got it but he has Cyrus' bottle, and I would say Cyrus by now as well."

Alice turned on Will, her green eyes dancing with fury and fire. "I told you! I told you to be careful how you talk, now you've gone and delivered him up to the very person we've been trying to save him from!" she screamed, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hold on, I think he can more than take care of himself! Hasn't he proven that more than enough times since you met him, he's not a child," Will shot back, getting slightly annoyed. He hadn't meant to use the wish, it was a mistake but they were all acting like the world was ending because he'd sent Cyrus back into his bottle. Sure, the bottle wasn't somewhere handy, but they could get it back if Cyrus didn't get away first. "The fact these two were the ones to tell us the bloody bottle isn't even here seems proof enough he can handle himself. He obviously escaped Jafar, for a brief time anyway."

Alice was beside herself, she could hardly even form words. She knew Will had not meant to use up his wish, he'd been frustrated and blurted out what was going through his mind, failing to realize if he said the word wish Cyrus would have to grant whatever it was.

In the end it was Rumpel who ended up explaining things to Will. "It isn't a matter of if he can take care of himself, or defend himself against other people. He can do that, we've all seen he's a skilled fighter and a quick thinker. The issue here is he's bound to the rules of his station. As much as I am loathed to call him such, he's a slave. Alice did not see him as one stuck in a life of servitude, and did not treat him in such a manner, neither did we, but that is exactly what he is and trust me, he never argued the fact when anyone tried to tell him otherwise. He's lived that way for centuries and now he's been tossed right back into that life, and with the worst possible master imaginable. I don't know what Jafar has planned, but Cyrus won't be able to escape him this time. His will was tied to Alice, and she had pretty well given him the chance to finally think for himself, and do what he wanted, that is most likely why he put an effort into getting away. He won't this time; he knows his place and will act accordingly."

Will looked to the ground, feeling a little ashamed. He didn't really understand magic, and he didn't think much on the whole genie thing. They granted wishes, that was all he knew about them. It never really occurred to him that a genie was technically someone bound to a life of servitude but he really should have realized that, with some of Cyrus' odd little mannerisms. "I'm really sorry Alice, I didn't mean anything by it. I know it isn't going to make things better, but we'll get him back," he offered, trying to smile at her and failing miserably.

Regina crossed her arms across her chest and leveled Will with an icy stare. "Mind telling me what you wished for?"

If Will felt like dirt before, he felt like whatever was below dirt now. "Baelfire here was being a prat, one minute he was upset his father lay dying, the next he was right back to bringing up all his old quarrels with him. It was tiring, you know, bygones and all that should apply at some point. I was frustrated and wished Bae would use his head and realize his father did everything he did for his wellbeing. Not a second later that golden light came along and suddenly Bae was thinking clearly, not that I got to see much of it because Alice sucker punched me right good for it," he explained.

"And I'd like to do it again. After everything we went through in Wonderland to find him, you off and do this!" she cried out, her hands clenching.

Will raised his hands in the air, taking a few steps back. "I said I'm sorry, alright? And when we get Cyrus back I swear to you I'm going to be his bloody servant for months on end just to make up for it! But fighting won't do us any good right now, at least this time we're a few steps ahead. We know who has him, we know who Jafar is working with and I'm pretty sure Regina and David might have an idea of where he's being held too."

"We do, so long as Jafar doesn't start in on his little plan first. We need to figure out a plan of our own first, there is no way I'm going after Jafar without a good plan, or his allies. Who are these idiots anyway?" Regina inquired.

"A pirate named Hook and the Blue Fairy," Henry told her, stepping out of the shadows he'd been hiding in. With all the screaming and fighting, as well as punching, he felt it best to keep a low profile.

Regina sneered. "I knew I hated that uppity little fairy for a reason. Let's get some sort of a rescue party formed, and when I'm done with her she's going to be the sorriest fairy that ever lived."

"Not if I get to her first," Alice promised as they all walked to the door to find some more of the people they knew were friends with Cyrus, or at least close enough friends they'd risk almost anything to help.

Regina grinned, that was one plus to all these fairy tale people; loyalty was in their blood. They might not be loyal to her, but they would be loyal to any friend in need.

* * *

This time when the wave of despair came, Cyrus didn't fight it. He was truly in trouble. There were no more wishes to get him out of this predicament, he couldn't fight his way out, he couldn't run anymore; he was moments away from belonging to Jafar and the sorcerer would waste little time acquiring what he desired.

He sank down into the abundance of cushions in his bottle and waited, fearing what this plot of Jafar's entailed. He actually began to wonder if trying to get at the dark magic would be painful, he wasn't overly afraid of pain but he surely didn't welcome it with open arms either. He also found himself wondering how that would work with the magic he had for granting wishes. One type was solely for the pleasure of his masters, whilst the other obviously was something that could be used freely. Not that he could, as he had never known he had it and even if he had, he would never use it, but he couldn't help but wonder how this would work.

At least he might have a short respite from whatever plans Jafar had for him. He just wanted to sleep, granting wishes could be draining, and more so when they were in short succession of each other. Most times they were spread out over time, not in the span of a few hours.

He curled up and closed his eyes, silently wishing someone would hear his wish to wake up and find he was no longer trapped in this predicament, and that he was at home with Rumpel and Belle, safe.

And with that thought he sighed and tried to find a short escape from his worries and fears in sleep.

* * *

"You incompetent idiot!" Jafar bellowed as he stormed into the sitting room of the house he was currently sharing with Hook.

Hook jumped and knocked over his glass of rum, it hitting the hardwood flooring and shattering on contact, a few drops of the amber liquid trickling off the broken crystal. "What? I haven't done anything!" he argued, struggling to his feet.

Jafar walked over to him, grabbing him by the throat. Normally he would use magic, but he was so infuriated he actually wanted to feel the bones crushing in the pirate's neck as he applied pressure. "Exactly, you imbecile! You failed to lock the door to the room the genie was in!"

"You said he can't touch silver," Hook choked out, struggling to get air.

The sorcerer dropped him, glaring as though he were the most despicable thing he'd ever laid eyes on. "Did I not warn you that genie was a clever thing? Just because he's acting complacent and submissive means nothing until you own his will. He tore one of the pillows apart to use the material to protect himself from the silver. I should flay you alive for this!"

"Hold on, all we have to do is force Alice to use her last wish, and then you'll have him. This isn't the end of the world," Hook argued as he stood up. So far as he was concerned the sorcerer was not thinking logically.

"Why would I want to wait on you to try to kill this Rumpelstiltskin again? The last time it took you a few days to catch up to him. She needs to make her wish and she has to do it quickly, I grow tired of chasing this genie down," he snapped as Hook walked over to the cabinet the bottle was in.

He opened the glass doors and picked the ornately decorated brass bottle up in his hand, running his thumb along the etchings on the upper part of it. Before he could fully remove the cork out of it Jafar snatched it out of his hand, barking at him to be careful.

Once Jafar had it in his grasp he began to push the cork back in only to see a familiar orange mist begin to spill forth. This was a fortunate stroke of luck.

A grin lit up his face, whilst the pirate just looked on in shock. A few seconds later Cyrus appeared, standing before them both with his hands clasped before him and his head slightly bowed. Jafar could feel the fear radiating off the genie, and it delighted him greatly as he spoke the words he'd been waiting to hear addressed to him for years.

"Master mine, my will is thine."

_AN: I really hope this chapter is alright...it has been a long morning and I edited and reviewed this at 7:30am (and it was already a long morning by then, trust me)._

_This story is almost finished so I may well start posting another chapter sooner rather than later. The only thing I'm pondering is adding in the back story I wrote out for Cyrus. The only reason I wonder if I should put it in is the fact it is going to be a full chapter on it's own. Brevity is not a gift of mine, trust me. If I add it, that gives four more chapters, I do believe. I just do not want to bore people with a back story is all, if there is no interest._

_Either way, I hope this was enjoyable and I'll be back in the next week with either another chapter or the rest of the story, back story or not._


	10. Making Plans, Breaking Rules & Endings

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Grumpy stood from the table and grabbed his pick axe, heading for the door leaving the diner. The dwarf wore a look of determination on his face and although anyone was normally loathed to get between him and whatever goal he had at the moment, they couldn't exactly let him run off. He didn't stand much of a chance on this mission, not on his own and certainly when he had no idea what he was going up against.

"Where are you going?" David inquired, a slightly exasperated tone in his voice. Dwarves were loyal friends, but sometimes they were just too stubborn for words. This situation was stressful enough without anything added into the mix.

The dwarf in question turned around and scowled. "Where do you think? I'm going to go land a few hits on that sorcerer, then I might take out the pirate and the fairy while I'm at it. No one hurts my friends and gets away with it, I would have thought you'd be able to figure it out without me explaining."

Regina grinned, she liked his way of thinking. She felt like lighting all three of them on fire, if the truth were to be told, but knew that wouldn't be wise. Before she could answer, it was Sidney who jumped in. "You can't do that, not yet anyway. Cyrus' will is tied to Jafar now, or we're going on that assumption. All three wishes must be made to free him and allow a new master to find him."

"Yeah, you said that! You didn't say what would happen if the wishes were not granted before I plant this thing in whatever that sorcerer has in place of a heart," he snarled, sitting back down. Evidently he wasn't going to sneak out all that easily.

All eyes turned to Sidney, much to his displeasure. "I really don't know what would happen, I never had a master who didn't want all their wishes. I would guess it leaves the genie in a sort of limbo. His will is still tied to his dead master, and I could only assume that would be slightly maddening in the long run. So no killing Jafar until he uses his three wishes."

"But he won't! He isn't after wishes, he's after dark magic! He's going to use Cyrus solely for some sort of dark magic that he has in him, there is no way he'll use the wishes and risk losing his only link to it," Alice cried out, wondering why none of them seemed to fully grasp that. Jafar would never use his wishes, therefore this discussion on waiting for the wishes to be used was pointless.

Rumpel had to agree with Alice, they were, as Will so eloquently put it, rightly screwed. They needed Jafar to use his wishes to release Cyrus from his service, but there was no chance he would. There was Grumpy's plan, but when no one knew what exactly would happen to the genie if Jafar were to be killed, that route wasn't exactly a good one either.

He was actually beginning to wonder if there was a way to work around the wishes. If he were after ultimate power, he'd find a way. But even then, Cyrus' will was still tied to the sorcerer if he used the wishes or not. This was quite the problem they had and Rumpel was beyond frustrated with it.

It hurt him to think someone he loved as a son was most likely at that very moment suffering. He wanted to go find Cyrus, take out Jafar and his allies then hug him as close as he could, the same way he used to hug Bae as a child when he was hurting. But he couldn't do that, he could easily kill Hook and Blue, but that went against what Belle would want.

This truly was a very complicated problem.

"Look, it is human nature to want things, Cyrus said that pretty plain. Jafar might be trying to tap into this ultimate darkness, but he's got to slip up at some point and make a wish. Couldn't we just push him into it the same way he did Alice?" the dwarf argued, although he had a sinking suspicion from the look on the other's faces that wasn't a viable option either.

Charming shook his head. "I doubt that. From what Cyrus told me, after I pried it out of him, Jafar has been after him for a long time. The man isn't going to let our friend go easily, and if he does he'll likely be closer to dead than alive."

Alice strangled a cry at that, she blamed herself for all of this. She never should have given a wish away, it was a harmless enough gesture. She'd thought they'd find Cyrus without much incident, thereby giving Will a wish would be completely innocent. Sadly, that hadn't been the case and they were running out of options to save Cyrus, and possibly everyone in the town once Jafar started into his plan.

She felt someone put an arm around her shoulders, and she looked up to see Belle smiling warmly at her. "We'll figure something out, don't you worry. Nothing is impossible," she assured her, giving her a little squeeze as Charming, Regina and Rumpel all argued on what would be the best plan of action.

Alice tried to smile; it echoed what Will had told her in the asylum. The only trouble was they were no longer in Wonderland.

* * *

Hook cringed as he heard the genie scream in absolute agony. It didn't look like Jafar was causing any physical harm to him, but then again the sorcerer had said the spell he was casting would be akin to tearing the other's mind apart so it had to be painful on some level.

He watched mutely as Cyrus placed his hands on his head, trying with all his might to stop the tears that were falling from the amount of pain he was in. He almost felt sorry for him, but then he just reminded himself of the end game. That was all that matter. Jafar had to bypass the rule of the three wishes granted to him in order to tap into the dark magic, although the pirate couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't another way. Not that it really mattered to him how it was accomplished, once this was done Hook had been promised his Milah, and that was the only important factor here.

Cyrus was nothing, he was just a servant, a tool to be used in the long run. From what Jafar had said the genie had been evading him for years and obviously his luck had finally run out.

A growl of aggravation could be heard amid the cries, and Hook glanced over to where the sorcerer stood, wearing an expression of extreme displeasure. "Stop resisting, genie, it would be easier on you if you'd simply accept your lot in life!" he snapped.

After a few more minutes of attempting to make the spell take hold, he waved his hand in anger, and Cyrus was tossed to the side. He collided with the wall and collapsed with a whimper. Blue rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed with this turn of events. She wanted power and she was sick of waiting for it. Why people couldn't just bow down to what she wanted was beyond her. "Go make sure he's still alive pirate," she ordered.

"Right love, I'll get on that," Hook snarled, walking over to where the genie lay on his side looking half dead.

He stood over the person in question for a few moments before kneeling beside him. He reached out and grabbed Cyrus' wrist to find a pulse, being careful to avoid the burns Jafar had inflicted with a silver letter opener. The sorcerer had not been kidding when he had said he'd make the genie pay for trying to escape again. Hook thought he'd seen cruelty in his time, but he was pretty sure Jafar was taking it to a whole new level. Again, some small part of him began to question what they were doing. This didn't feel right, was having Milah back really worth all this?

He found a pulse easily, although the laboured breathing should have been enough of an indication for him to realize he was still alive, but you could never be too sure with magical beings so far as he was concerned. As he looked down at the genie, he could feel that strange sensation washing over him again, he fancied it must be a feeling akin to regret, but he pushed it aside. He really didn't care what happened to anyone but himself, so long as he had what he desired when this was finished that was the only thing that mattered.

As he knelt over by Cyrus he could hear Blue and Jafar arguing amongst themselves. Blue was adamant they continue on with the spell, giving Hook the impression she was as power hungry as Jafar, if not more. He idly listened to them argue, noting how the genie seemed to curl into himself at the sound of their voices. It reminded him of a small child trying to make them self as small as possible to avoid being seen. And once again he had to remind himself this wasn't a person they were dealing with, he was some magical being whose purpose was to grant wishes, nothing more. You couldn't super impose human emotions and thought processes on something that is not human. What was important was getting his Milah back, no matter how many times he questioned the means he knew the end would be worth it.

"If we try again right now he'll likely die, which would be detrimental to our goal," Jafar snarled, leveling Blue with a fiery glare. He then turned his attention towards Hook. "Stay with him and I'll return in an hour or so to finish this spell as I need to consult my books on why this is not working as planned. Do not let him out of your sight. It should be easier this time, you have no rum and he's in the same room as you. I would hope in his weakened state he can't overpower you."

Hook was about to protest when both Jafar and Blue walked out of the room, closing the door and leaving him alone with Cyrus. "Well isn't this a nice little turn of events, I get to play babysitter. Nice to know I'm appreciated," he muttered, sitting down on the floor.

"You are not," Cyrus said, his voice hardly above a whisper.

Hook turned his attention to the genie, looking at him suspiciously. After his last little escape attempt he wasn't going to let Cyrus lull him into any false sense of security again. "It doesn't matter if he appreciates me or not, so long as I get my Milah back I don't give a toss what he thinks of me."

Cyrus laughed slightly, opening his eyes to look at his captor. "You are more of a fool than I could have ever thought. Jafar does not honour his promises and deals with allies. You, like myself, are a means to an end. You helped him force Alice to make her wishes, thereby sending me back to my bottle and making him my master. Once he has what he wants, he will not bring this woman you long for back from the dead."

"Why are you telling me these lies? He promised us both what we desired the most if we helped him," he snapped, resisting the urge to slap Cyrus for what he'd said. On principal he didn't like to hit a person when they're down. At least that was what he liked to tell people, it wasn't a rule he followed often but he figured now was as good a time as any to give it a try.

"It is simple really, I am not lying. He told me before Alice made her last wishes that neither you nor the Blue Fairy would get what your heart desires. You will be reunited with your lady love, in death. He plans to kill you, what his designs are for the Blue Fairy he did not specify other than she will learn what true power really is," Cyrus explained, hoping the pirate would believe him. He knew he didn't have much hope of getting out of this predicament with any form of free will intact and although he owed the man nothing, it still did not seem right not to warn him he was about to be crossed.

"Why should I believe you?" Hook asked.

"What do I have to gain from lying? Jafar is my master now, even if you went against him nothing changes that fact," he answered, attempting to sit up but failing miserably.

Hook chuckled, rather amused by that statement. "You have your facts wrong there genie. Jafar may have been holding your bottle when you suddenly appeared, but I'm the one who rubbed it and pulled out the cork, well, the majority of the way."

So that was why the spell wasn't taking hold properly. Cyrus had begun to wonder about that, before Jafar had doubled his efforts, forcing all thoughts to leave his mind. He was not overly familiar with the spell but he'd heard tell of one that would somehow work past the three wishes, although he'd never understood the point to it. Until now, of course. If Jafar wasn't his master, then it wouldn't work. It actually amused him on some level that his captors seemed bent on double crossing each other at every turn. He certainly didn't want to be in Hook's place when Jafar figured it out, which he would after going over his spell books. The man wasn't stupid, Cyrus knew that.

He looked at the pirate, realization dawning on him. He wasn't at the mercy of Jafar, not yet anyway. His only hope of getting out of this without much injury hung on this man. A man who was bent on exacting vengeance on someone who had become somewhat of a father figure to him, and set on having the laws of magic changed so he could have back someone long dead. He wanted to leave the pirate in the dark on what he'd done, but knew he couldn't. There were rules, and he had to follow them whether he liked them or not.

Cyrus forced himself to sit up, and looked right at Hook. "Master mine, my will is thine. Tell me your wishes three," he said, and with a slight motion of his hand Hook found himself holding three small jewels that looked like rubies.

"Excuse me?" he stammered, completely shocked at this turn of events. This had to be another trick; the bloody genie was simply trying to fool him into believing he was his master now, in some attempt to get out of this predicament. If he tried to use the wishes he'd be made a fool.

"You are the one who summoned me, not Jafar. He was holding my bottle so I assumed he was my master but it is you. I advise you to use your first wish wisely as once he realizes what you have done, he is going to come for blood," Cyrus explained.

For possibly the first time in his life, Hook was speechless. He really hadn't thought much of pulling the cork from the bottle before Jafar had grabbed it out of his hand. In all honesty, he was just bored and wanted to see what would happen, he assumed it was whoever was holding it at the time that commanded the genie. That was leaving out the fact he didn't even realize the genie had been drawn back inside. He really had to read up on legends and lore, although he supposed it was a little late for that.

"So you are telling me I'm your master? I command your will and all that," he questioned, looking over the ruby like wishes in his hand. It almost seemed a shame to use them, they were quite lovely to look at.

Cyrus suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "I believe I just said that. My will is yours to command and I can grant you any three wishes that stay within the laws of magic. I believe you know the four, if you have aligned yourself with Jafar to have them changed. The only other wish I advise strongly against is wishing me free from my bottle. That one always ends in tragedy, and although right now I feel I owe you very little, I would not see anything horrible befall any of my masters."

Hook grinned, musing he sure was a selfless lad. If he were confined to the life of a genie the first thing he'd do is convince someone to wish him free. "Trust me, I wouldn't even dream of doing any kindness to you in that way," he admitted with a grin.

"I knew that, but felt it wise to explain everything on the slim chance you actually possess a heart," Cyrus retorted, hoping the man would be smart with his wishes. He knew pirates had a thing for treasures and the likes, but they'd do him no good if Jafar ended his life.

Not that the sorcerer would do so until the third wish was made. Then the pirate would be fair game, and his life would likely be over before Cyrus even returned to the confines of his bottle.

Hook was still stunned at the turn of events, but was brought back to reality when he heard the sound of someone moving angrily towards the small room Cyrus was kept in.

"I highly advise you to make a wish and do it quickly, as well as make it a smart one," Cyrus told him with a touch of urgency in his voice.

Hook's eyes went wide, this was getting just a little out of hand. He didn't want to be the one in control of a genie. He just wanted Milah back. He really did need to learn when to leave well enough alone, but it was a little late for that now. He needed to make a wish and make it fast.

Just as the sound of the door handle being turned filled his ears, Hook turned to Cyrus to make his first wish. "Genie, I wish Jafar can do me no harm!" he shouted, panic in his voice. He could normally stay calm in the most dire of situations but those rarely included the very real possibility of his head turning up on a silver platter, or worse.

"As you wish, master mine," Cyrus said, as a golden light appeared between his hands and just as quickly dissipated into nothing.

At first Hook thought nothing had come of the wish, until Jafar tried to choke him only to discover it was doing nothing. He couldn't help the grin that spread as realization dawned on the other man. This was turning out to be a rather good day after all. "You know Jafar, you really need a new party trick," he taunted, enjoying the angered look that washed across the other man's face.

That was until Jafar turned on the genie and started to threaten him. Cyrus didn't seem overly concerned, at first. He was fairly assured Jafar wouldn't do too much to him as he was the key to the darkest magic the sorcerer could ever have, but the idea of bodily harm of any type seemed to disturb him. The pirate could see the slight apprehension in Cyrus' eyes as Jafar raged, coming up with all sorts of terrible things he would do until he had the genie under his control. He did actually feel a little sorry for him, after all, he did just help him out a touch with Jafar.

That was when Hook had another brilliant wish idea. He had two options, he could wish himself out of Jafar's general vicinity and possibly take the genie with him. The trouble with that wish was Jafar would eventually find them and he really wouldn't have any bargaining chips when he was found. It was wonderful the man could do him no harm, but there were other ways to torture someone.

It also occurred to him he'd be doing the genie a favour, and frankly he wasn't going to do that despite feeling gratitude on some level towards him. Most people assumed he wasn't overly bright, but he knew the genie's magic would direct them to the one place he felt safe in this realm; the home of that imp who killed his love. That was completely out of the question. He might be feeling a little bit of sympathy for the genie as Jafar raged and threatened him with many creative ways to inflict pain, but he wasn't going to do any kindnesses either.

A wide grin enveloped his face, earning him a strange look from Cyrus. He'd had a wonderful thought, and it would change his dealings with Jafar. The man wanted ultimate power, and he wanted Milah back from the dead. It didn't matter what became of the overachieving little fairy, but so long as he still earned his reward for all he'd done, that was all he cared about.

Cyrus felt uneasy with the way the pirate was looking at him. He could almost guess what the next wish would be and he longed to refuse it. Sadly, he could not. It was in his very nature to want to please his masters and to do their bidding no matter how much he disagreed with a wish. In recent centuries he had begun to question the way of how it all worked, but it did not change the natural desire within him to do as he was told to keep his master happy and to stay close at hand, which was why he'd never considered running away before. He didn't matter, and he had a sick feeling this wish was going to affect him in the worst possible way, and most likely his friends.

"What are you smiling about, you fool? Unless you're planning on using those last two wished and quickly I would cease now," Jafar barked, causing Hook to laugh.

"For how smart you think you are, you've missed a very vital part to the puzzle. I own his will now, has it occurred to you I can just make him compliant?" Hook pointed out, enjoying the way Jafar looked at him with a mixture of appreciation and surprise washing over his face.

Cyrus on the other hand was rather horrified. No one had ever used a wish against him, and he was even more frustrated that he couldn't deny the wish when the pirate would finally utter it.

Jafar chuckled a bit. "It seems I have underestimated you after all, Captain Hook. This indeed could be a stroke of luck, and make this spell so much easier to perform if someone just wishes our scared little genie into submission. For once I shall be kind and give you a reprieve and time to rest, but be assured the next time you lay eyes on us you shall submit to this spell and I will finally have everything I've ever wanted."

With that said Jafar left the room and motioned Hook to follow him. Obviously they were planning on how the wish should be worded, as there was always a catch to them.

When he heard the click of the door Cyrus began to wonder just how far he could push the rules he had to live by, as right then he had absolutely no desire to stick around and wait for the inevitable. He had to warn his friends, and hopefully they could either help, or if worse came to worse, end it all for him.

* * *

There was not enough coffee to get through this. Alice was absolutely certain of that fact as she sipped on yet another cup of the strong liquid Will had such affection for.

They'd been at the diner most of the afternoon and now the hours were slipping into evening. And as she's predicted, nothing had been resolved. Charming thought they should go to the Hatter's old home outside of town and just burst in, swords drawn and demand Jafar release their friend. It sounded good in theory, but she knew that wasn't going to work. It did amuse her that he was thinking like a fairy tale prince, even though she knew that was what he was. He thought any noble quest would end favourably so long as your intentions were good.

Alice knew that wasn't always the case, and his plan would end with the majority of them dead, if not all of them. It was similar to Grumpy's plan actually, although the dwarf only planned to go in swinging and hope for the best. It seemed dwarves sometimes just went with their emotions, or at least this dwarf did. The concept of him planting his pick axe in Jafar's chest was rather appealing, but she knew the dwarf would never get close enough.

The former genie, Sidney, didn't have much to offer in terms of a rescue, all he'd done was given more insight into life as a genie. The most disheartening being that a genie once bound to a master had only one goal; to keep their master happy and they never strayed far from them.

It actually brought back all her insecurities about their relationship. Was all of it simply part of who he was? He desired to make her happy, to be by her side because he had to be, maybe that was all it was. She knew at times he was a touch restless because she didn't make any of her wishes, she could only imagine how maddening that must've been.

She couldn't help but wonder, yet again, if Cyrus only loved her because in a way he had to. He was just someone else to add to the list of people who loved her due to obligation rather than want. Her father loved her because he had to; although she could tell after awhile he just put up with her rather than loved her. There was some love in the extended family, even though it was more pity than anything else.

And now she was beginning to fear it wasn't truly love when it came to Cyrus either. His very nature dictated he had to keep his master happy; it was all he desired in life. He would never stray from whomever his master was either, which almost made his vow to never leave her laughable. Of course he wouldn't leave, he couldn't. Not until she made all her wishes.

Rumpel glanced over at her right then and could just about see where her thoughts were going. It wasn't bad enough they still didn't have a course of action to take; now Sidney was putting yet more doubts in Alice's mind. The insecurities were something he knew well; there were days he would glance at Belle and still wonder how she could ever love him. She was a beautiful woman, how could she love someone as ugly as him? He never saw anything good or beautiful in himself, he was ugly on the inside and out so far as he was concerned. And yet, Belle saw beauty in him and tried her best to bring it out; that was enough for him to try to be the person she saw in him.

"Would you please shut up, unless you have something of use to impart upon the situation at hand," he finally snapped, causing Sidney to cease talking. Why did no one ever weigh their words before they started babbling on? "Have you given any consideration to what you're saying? You've basically just told everyone here the only reason Cyrus would love anyone is because he has to, not because he wants to. That isn't going to inspire too many people to even attempt to rescue him, as you've made him out to be nothing more than an emotionless entity."

"That wasn't my intent," Sidney argued. "There is a difference though; you said this Cyrus was cursed to be a genie. I can tell you from experience once you are wished free of your bottle or lamp you can remember everything. For myself, I sprung into existence as a genie as I have no memories before my life living in that lamp, awaiting a new master after the last one had used their wishes. Cyrus, on the other hand, although he is still bound by the rules of being a genie is unique. Not many are cursed into that life, as it requires at least one person in possession of a great talent in magic to perform the spell. Although he has a desire to keep his master happy and will not leave them, he still has human emotions. I desired to find love, but I didn't know what it was. He does, he has no idea why, but he knows what love is, he knows what friendship is. The emotions are familiar to him, even though he has no idea why and cannot comprehend them when someone bestows such affection to him. You say he acts a lot like a normal human, so I would hazard to guess at some point in the past someone extended a hand in friendship upon summoning him, instead of seeing him as a piece of property. Obviously he spent a lot of time with whoever it was as well."

"That's all well and good, but why does he still act all submissive and that whole 'master mine' rubbish?" Will asked, a little curious. This all sounded great, but Cyrus still acted exactly the way Sidney had been describing a genie should, cursed or not.

Sidney grinned sorrowfully. "How many hundreds, or even thousands, of years do you think he's been alive? This isn't counting his time as a mortal. How to act and what is expected is pretty much ingrained into a genie, and despite the fact he's started to act more like the rest of us, he still knows what he is and will act accordingly. Cyrus is well aware one day every friend he's made here will pass away, and he'll once again become a possession to be passed around. He can't just change his nature like that, not unless someone wishes it, and even then he won't truly stop being what he is. He's a genie and always will be one."

Alice felt a small spark of hope, maybe he was wrong about being wished free and the consequences. "If he was human at one time, does that mean he could be freed without consequence?"

"No, that mortal life is lost to him now and he can never have it back. There is also the chance if you, or anyone, did that he would die. Remember, he's thousands of years old; there is no way to tell what will happen. He started life as a mortal, not the other way around. There is also a concern for the reason he was cursed into that life, if it will take over him should he continue living. I know you wish to grant him freedom but it simply cannot and should not be done, as much as it pains me to tell you that as I can see you desire it. I would say from your tales, you've given him all the freedom he could ever desire without that particular wish," Sidney explained.

"Well that's great, now we know why our little genie is special," Regina drawled, getting a little tired of all this. "We're no closer to figuring out how to rescue him or get rid of that damn annoyance of a Jafar, the one handed pirate or that miserable fairy."

Alice groaned as they all fell back into their ideas for a rescue, what she wouldn't give to go home and sleep right about then. She was starting to lean towards Charming and Grumpy's idea of just going in swinging a weapon, although Regina's thoughts on lighting the three on fire sounded pretty good as well.

Will grinned at her; he could understand how tired she was getting. They were going in circles and getting no closer to a resolution. But at least she'd stopped fretting over her doubts again, he felt sorry for her that she'd had such an upbringing lacking in love and support that she constantly doubted it when she received it.

She was such a beautiful, smart and brave young woman, how any man could not love her was beyond him. He couldn't, not after having his heart broken. He'd taken care that it would never happen again, but he could understand what Cyrus saw in her, his whole genie nature be damned. When he saw them together for that short time he could see the love in those brown eyes, the adoration and wonder; it was as if he was looking in a mirror and seeing what used to shine in Anastasia's eyes whenever he walked into the room.

He watched as she laid her head down on her folded arms, in an attempt to catch a bit of sleep. Once more he regretted using that wish, even if it had resolved something and done a bit of good. Neal hadn't come with them to the diner, as he was feeling a bit conflicted over his sudden clear thinking. Will figured it might take Neal a bit of time to reconcile his thoughts and emotions, as it was more than obvious that deep down he did love his father, and somewhere inside he recognized Rumpel had done all he had for his welfare.

Will was more than willing to do anything he could for Alice, he would walk through fire to see her smile and laugh again, as she hadn't since Cyrus had been taken. He loved her as one would a sibling, and he'd be damned if anyone was going to make her cry or leave her distressed again.

He realized, listening to the talking, that whilst he'd found a strange little sibling relationship with Alice, she was starting to find a parental relationship in the same people the love of her life had. He couldn't help but shake his head; this town did strange things to people.

Belle, on the other hand, was getting sick and tired of all the talk. They were getting nowhere. She wanted some sort of action, or at least a plan to begin to form. At this rate she was going to go find Cyrus herself, the rest be damned, and drag him to safety.

But, she fancied, she'd give them another hour to argue out more futile ideas. She'd hate to ruin their fun too soon, and she had to formulate her own plan.

* * *

Cyrus stood from where he'd been sitting, quickly grabbing at the blankets and pillows that were still strewn upon the bed. His will might be tied to Hook's, but he'd be damned if he was sticking around for any of this. He wrapped his hands again in torn cloth and quickly opened the window, gauging how far it was to the nearest tree.

For a moment he stopped and thought about what he was doing. He'd never tried to escape a master before; everything in him was against this course of action. This was his life and all he really knew, and no matter how hard he tried to convince himself to leave he simply could not. It was absolutely maddening, instinct told him to leave but he just could not make himself climb out the window. Not only was it in his nature to want to please his masters it turned out he couldn't leave either. Everyone was right; he really did have the short end of the stick. Evidently having free will away from Alice had come with the wish she'd made, he had almost forgotten how long he'd slept when they'd been separated the first time, he'd only roused when she'd returned to Wonderland. Not just because his love was near, but due to the fact she was his mistress as well.

"This is a rather disheartening development," he softly said, just as he saw something moving in the snow near the house. It wasn't a very large house, and was well concealed from view by the many trees around it. He had no idea who had lived in it before, or why they'd abandoned it. It was possible that Jafar had killed the former tenant, a thought that disturbed Cyrus. He knew the man was ruthless, but he still couldn't help being surprised by the levels he'd go to.

Grace nearly jumped a foot in the air when she heard her name being called. She liked to come and play in the gardens of the house that she and her father used to keep shortly after the curse had been broken. Even though it was considered a small house, it was too big for just two people. She missed living in it, but she missed the large gardens most of all. The tiny home they kept in Storybrooke would never compare to this house, in her eyes.

She liked their new home, but it didn't have the large gardens and all the trees. She enjoyed pretending she was in Wonderland, although he refused to tell her any stories about the place. All he would say is how much he hated it, and leave it at that. So she used her imagination on what it might be like and went from there.

She really thought there was no harm coming out to play there, she was pretty sure no one lived in the house, at least not until that exact moment. She whirled around and looked up towards the voice and a bright smile came over her when she recognized who it was. "Cyrus!" she cried out, running over to the tree by the window to climb up it.

Cyrus smiled when she finally made it to a branch up near the window. "Grace, you shouldn't be out here, there are dangerous people inside," he told her, to which she just shrugged. "I need you to get a message to town."

She looked at him oddly. "Why don't you just come with me? I know all the short cuts, we'll be there in no time."

"I can't," he answered, to which she rolled her eyes.

"You grown ups always think you can't do anything. My father says you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it," she told him, reaching out to grab his hand to pull him out towards her. "Except go to Wonderland, that one he's pretty well put off limits."

"No Grace, I want to leave but I physically cannot. I've already tried but I just cannot bring myself to," he replied, continuing on to explain to her what had happened. He hoped this respite Jafar had promised him would be longer than a few minutes. He didn't want Grace caught up in all this as well.

"Is this a genie thing?" she questioned, to which he nodded. "Well if you want to leave I say leave. Just hang the consequences, sometimes you have to do something for yourself and I think you have a bad master right now so you need to leave. Now, let's go. I'll help you, okay? I'm great at helping people, and you need it. Sometimes you have to break rules and I think this is one time you need to break these genie rules you live with."

Cyrus took in a deep breath, she was right. He knew once Hook made the wish he was fair game no matter where he was, but he didn't want to sit around waiting either. If he could get to his friends they might be able to find a solution to the problem before it got out of hand, and if not, they could at the very least give him a very permanent ending to it all.

It took a few minutes, but finally they made it to the snow covered ground. Grace grabbed his hand and pulled him into the wooded area, pulling his hand harder every time she felt him start to slow down. "I don't get it, you had no troubles when Alice was your mistress and she was in a completely different realm," she blurted out once they were safely hidden in the wooded area around the house.

Cyrus was still trying to process that in his mind, as he followed the little girl through the woods. Although it felt impossible, with each step it slowly became easier to run. "I suppose that had to do with her wish. When we were separated the first time I fell into a deep sleep until she returned to Wonderland, I suppose this time it was the wording of her wish that kept that from happening again until she found the realm I was in. This is the first time I've ever fled any of my masters, it is rather difficult when you're accustom to a certain way of things."

"Well then I say you need a change. Let's get going before they notice you're missing. I really don't want to meet any of the people who are being mean to one of my friends," Grace told him, grabbing his hand again and just about dragging him through the woods. "And it is getting dark, I don't like the dark."

Cyrus laughed, admitting he wasn't overly fond of the dark either as they ran towards the town.

* * *

Will glanced out the large front window of the diner when he saw movement in the lamp light in the street. At first he wondered who would ever allow a child to be out after dark, and then he marveled that someone was daft enough to be out in the weather without a jacket.

It was then the two passed through enough lamp light for him to discern the child was Grace, and by the clothing he knew the other to be Cyrus. "Bloody hell, whatever you might want to think about him he sure doesn't do anything you'd expect," he laughed, nodding towards the window when other's looked at him questioningly.

Alice was the first out the door, wrapping her arms around Cyrus and pulling him as close as she could. He was more than happy to feel her in his arms again, but when she leaned in to kiss him he pulled back. The hurt look that crossed her face pained him, but sadly he was unsure of how much time he had before Jafar and Hook realized he had once again taken off.

"Trust me, Alice, I would love nothing more than to kiss you right now but time is of the essence," he explained, quickly kissing her lightly on the forehead to appease her.

Will dashed out into the snowy night, along with the rest gathered at the diner. "Seems you don't follow rules all that well, we were just being regaled with tales of how you should not be able to leave your new master," he joked as he stopped next to Alice.

"I helped him," Grace proclaimed in a rather proud voice. Alice smiled and thanked her, as Cyrus suggested someone take her home before Jafar figured out he'd gotten away again.

Sidney was the one to offer to walk Grace home, citing it was on his way. In truth he knew he was all but useless with what was to come and knew the little girl would most likely be the first casualty once Jafar had control of all that magic he desired.

Once Sidney and Grace were out of sight, Cyrus explained as quickly as he could what had happened, and was likely going to transpire very soon. He knew it wouldn't be long before Jafar caught up with him, and most likely with Hook and Blue in his company. He wished there was some other way out of this, but he could think of none.

Before he could finish impressing upon any of them what he desired for them to do, if there was no other course of action, everyone around him suddenly became eerily still. It only took him a second to realize who had arrived. He looked at the faces of all the people he'd grown close to in Storybrooke in such a short time, and a lingering moment to gaze at Alice before he sighed and turned to face Jafar.

"Why do you continue with these foolish antics? You know you can't get far," Jafar said, an exasperated look on his face.

"I would hate to deny you a challenge," Cyrus replied. "Just be done with it, I know I can't fight you but please, spare my friends and Alice in your quest for this dark power you desire."

Blue rolled her eyes, this really was getting old. She nudged Hook, wondering why he hadn't just said his wish yet so they could get on with it. The sooner she had even a fraction of that dark essence was all the better to her; everyone in the town she wanted to have control over were standing frozen to the spot and would make it all the easier for her to have some fun.

Hook looked at Cyrus, a grin spreading across his face as he noted the slight hint of fear in the other's eyes. "Genie, I wish you to stop fighting the spell Jafar plans to cast upon you," he wished, waiting.

Jafar smiled with delight as Cyrus granted the wish, and wasted no time enacting the spell to get to the dark magic that had been locked away in the genie all those centuries ago. Soon he would have it all, and there was nothing standing in his way anymore.

Hook watched with interest as Jafar went about casting his spell and Cyrus simply stood there without so much as moving. The wish had certainly worked to their advantage, he could almost hear Milah's voice again and he knew it wouldn't be much longer before that would be a reality.

He'd been the one to finally give Jafar what he'd wanted, yes he'd rather messed things up for a moment but it had worked out in the long run. Jafar would reward him, he had promised he'd see to him first once he had the genie's dark magic in his control.

"There, now that wasn't so bad now was it?" Jafar inquired, although he wasn't expecting Cyrus to answer. There wasn't anything different looking about the mythical being standing before him, other than a slight dark essence that appeared to cling to him now that the spell was complete and the other magic now free.

Fortunately, so far as Jafar was concerned, Cyrus had no idea how exactly to use it. He was accustom to granting wishes, not using magic for his own desire. It was something that worked well for his purpose, as he would now be able to draw the darker magic out of the genie and direct it through his serpent staff. He longed to take it and have it for himself, but he knew it would be diluted and thereby inhibited by the rules of magic. This way he could do whatever he pleased, so long as the genie was alive.

"So what about our rewards?" Blue demanded once she realized the task was complete. She felt she'd done more than enough for Jafar, it was about time he gave something back.

Jafar grinned, gesturing his hand towards Cyrus. Both Hook and Blue could see the magic being pulled from the genie and it actually disturbed them to some level. Quickly they noted how Jafar's staff absorbed it and he leveled it towards the two of them. "Ah yes, your rewards. It is too bad you had not consulted with the Red Queen before entering into a deal with me, or heeded the warning of the genie, because I do not share any power with my allies. If only Amara had survived when I stole her magic, she would have warned you as well," he chided, knocking them both out with a blast of energy.

Cyrus watched listlessly as two of his captor collided with the side of a building, rendering them both unconscious. He knew the Blue Fairy would most likely be dead before the night was over, but was aware that Jafar couldn't kill the pirate due to the first wish he'd made. Killing him would keep him from using the wish on a lark, but Cyrus knew there was more than one way to keep someone from wishing. Removing their ability to talk was the first one that came to mind, and seemed the most likely route Jafar would take. The man had cruelty down to a fine art.

With Blue unconscious her spell began to lose its hold and Cyrus was horrified to see everyone beginning to come around. He had hoped that Jafar would just decide to vanish, with him, but of course that would have been too simple. Jafar would have to show what he could now do to all around; to be sure they would never dare challenge him.

And it sickened Cyrus to think he'd have to stand there and watch as the sorcerer picked off the people he loved, one by one, and taunt him with the fact it was the dark powers within him that were the cause of all of their deaths.

A wicked grin came over Jafar's face as Alice and the rest realized what had happened, it was hard not to see the slight difference in the genie, darkness seemed to emanate from him. He knew he'd have to be very careful with this magic, if Cyrus discovered a way to use it he likely would take advantage of that. It was a tricky game he was playing, but he was confident Cyrus' submissive nature would win out and he'd never attempt to fight back. He was counting on it, as he himself did understand how alluring power can be when you've been at the mercy of others.

"I'm going to give you all to the count of five to remove yourselves from my sight, after that I shall start picking you off one by one," Jafar warned, once again motioning his hand towards the genie and drawing the magic out of him.

"One...two...three...four..."

_AN: An update much sooner than I anticipated. Seeing as I didn't end up with my heart broken last night, I'm sure the writers of the show are saving that for next week. Wouldn't want us poor viewers to have a spell of happiness to get us through the long winter hiatus now would we? I am not so ashamed to admit I shrieked and flailed like a teenaged girl over the preview for next week._

_Anyway, I had done quite a bit of reading on genies throughout the writing of this story and finally just found a spot to get it in there. It was a lot of pick and choose what would work for me, and taking a bit of creative licensing as well. In all truth I just went with what worked for the purpose of the story, so I imagine a lot of it is exceptionally off the true mythology._

_There are three more chapters left in this, I decided to go with the back story I wrote for Cyrus in this story universe so that at least adds another chapter on. I'm hoping this is still enjoyable and people like reading it, as I have a Christmas story planned and two more after I complete **Safe** in this universe I've created. And goodness knows, more one shots. Because there isn't enough Alice and Cyrus out there in all honesty._


	11. Both Darkness and Light

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

It struck Alice as slightly ironic she had just had a conversation with Belle over how there was good in everyone. So many people had such strong opinions on her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin, citing there was not a shred of a decent person left inside his black heart. Many were convinced the man could never love anyone but himself, and he only delighted in making others suffer through magical means.

Belle always maintained there was good in everyone, no matter how dark they may appear; at one time they were good and could be again. Alice doubted that was possible with Jafar. In a time long past he was an innocent child, but now he was so consumed with a lust for power that she doubted he could ever find redemption. He didn't care who he hurt, or who he killed, on his quest for the ultimate power and he never showed an ounce of remorse for any pain he'd ever caused. If he did show remorse, it was that he hadn't done worse.

The whole irony of the conversation lay in the fact at that very moment, as Alice was crouched behind some shrubbery with Will, she was realizing there was darkness and evil in everyone as well. As she looked at her love she was struck by the fact he was still the person she knew, but at the same time she could see how the dark magic was beginning to affect him. She feared in time it would completely consume him, and the person she'd fallen in love with would be lost. Unless of course Rumpel and Regina could curse him again, but the trouble there was the chance he would lose his memory and how it would work; he was already genie so how would you re-curse him?

"Alice, tell me you have one of your brilliantly spur of the moment, utterly stupid plans racing through your pretty little head," Will blurted out, watching warily as Jafar tossed Grumpy to the side as if he was nothing more than a ragdoll. They'd told the dwarf not to try anything foolish, but he never did listen. Although Will really couldn't blame him for wanting to take a few swings at the sorcerer with his pick axe. He'd like nothing more than to land a few good hits in on Jafar as well, but sadly all he had was a piece of silver cutlery he'd taken from the diner. He had no clue why Granny kept the good silver there, but right about then he was glad to have it, if worse came to worse.

Alice shook her head, trying to fight back tears of frustration. If they didn't do something, and soon, Jafar would kill them all just to break Cyrus completely. So long as he had friends he would always hold on to some hope of be freed from Jafar's spell and service, if they were all dead that would die as well. But she refused to give up hope just yet, she didn't fail to notice as Grumpy flew through the air the little bit of golden magic that ensured the dwarf landed without too much injury.

She smiled, evidently unlocking the dark magic in him changed his genie magic to a point he could use it for more than wishes. And evidently he wasn't going to be taken over with darkness as quickly as she thought if he was trying in his own way to keep his friends safe.

"Listen, we're in a right bind here and there aren't too many ways out of it. Cyrus was hinting at a solution before Jafar showed up with his little friends," Will said, glancing over as Charming dodged another blast of energy from Jafar's staff. He had to give the prince points for trying, but the execution was way off.

Alice glanced over at him, all her questions showing in her eyes. "Look, I can see as well as you can he's trying to work against this, and he's trying to help us when he can but Jafar is going to catch on and the only way we can stop this, or so it seems to me, is to cut off his power source."

"We can't kill Jafar, he's too powerful. Maybe Rumpel and Regina could stall him up but even then we'd have to be fast," Alice reasoned, doubting the idea could ever work.

Will shook his head, either she missed the point or didn't want to hear it. "No love, we cut off where he's getting his power. Maybe you didn't read between the lines, but Cyrus wants us to kill him if we have to."

"I can't kill him," Alice stated incredulously.

"There might be no choice in the matter, and I doubt he would have even hinted at it if he thought there was another way. I'm not saying we have to do it right now, I'm just saying it could come down to it and if it does, are you going to be able to handle that? If it is the only option left, are you going to be able to reconcile the fact that he had to die to save everyone else?" Will inquired, hoping that she'd be strong enough to handle what might come to pass.

He hoped it didn't come to that, he knew with Rumpel and Regina on their side there was a chance they could somehow over throw Jafar and save Cyrus in the process, but the chances were growing slimmer as the seconds ticked by. He hadn't been there to watch Anastasia's downward spiral into darkness but he'd be damned to see the lure of dark magic take anyone else.

It pained him that it would only hurt Alice in the end, but in this case letting Cyrus live would be even worse. He tried to put that from his mind, he would worry about that if they came to it, as he could see Rumpel and Regina across the road having a rather heated conversation. Hopefully they had a better idea than he'd come up with. He could also see Belle a few feet away from them, and with just a glance he could tell she was concocting a plan in her pretty little head.

Belle gasped as she felt another blast of magic go past her, finally knocking Charming out cold. She was going to check on him, but thought better of it. If she let the sorcerer know she was there she'd likely wind up next on his hit list. She was fairly certain they all were on it, but she'd rather avoid moving to the prestigious number one spot for the moment.

Grumpy was down, as was Charming. Jafar was beginning to figure out how to handle the magic he was stealing, be it slowly. From what she understood from a quick explanation from Rumpel it was a powerful magic and could be hard to control if you were not accustom to it. Jafar used a staff to center his magic, and was doing the same with this stolen power.

It was with that thought realization dawned upon her, and Belle started to formulate a plan.

"We're screwed," Regina whispered, peeking over the hedge to see Jafar was keeping a keen eye out for anyone coming at him or the genie. "Completely screwed. What the hell was that anyway?"

Rumpel grunted, this was not the time to tell a long story. "That was the power of the original Dark One," he flatly told her.

"Excuse me? That, imp, was a genie who is somehow having his magic siphoned by the biggest annoyance in all the realms. No one mentioned anything to do with an original Dark One before this, or just failed to inform me," she snapped, not in the mood for any riddles or the likes.

"I'm aware of that, everything was happening so fast there was no time. The short version is Cyrus' father was the embodiment of evil, his children all had the talent for it so the people of their village, as this was a long, long time ago, cursed Cyrus to the life of a genie for eternity. Partially for his family's crimes but also because he possessed a great deal of dark power, once someone becomes a genie they forget their mortal life, and all that power was locked away inside him. His sisters were upset and killed their father with the very dagger that gives the Dark One power. So, dearie, what you are seeing through Cyrus is the undiluted power of the Dark One. And we need to stop this before it consumes him," Rumpel explained.

"No kidding, and before the whole town is destroyed in the process. Jafar is insane, I've dealt with him once before and trust me, we need to put him down," she blurted out.

"And do you have any ideas? Because that would be a great deal of help right about now," Rumpel snarled, getting rather annoyed with all this stating the obvious rubbish. "It would be nice to be home for my evening cup of tea, be it rather late."

Both of them nearly jumped a foot in the air when someone dashed up beside them. "Belle! Why didn't you stay where we told you to? It is too dangerous to be out in the open, even for a moment," Rumpel exclaimed, the concern clearly written in his face.

"I can't stand by and watch my friends get hurt, you know that. What are we going to do? Jafar is going to kill Alice, he's doing everything possible to break Cyrus and trust me, that will do it," she quickly said, her eyes looking sadly towards her friend. She had a plan, if she didn't like the one Rumpel and Regina came up with at least she had one.

Regina groaned, this love stuff was a little much to take. It wasn't enough that Snow and Charming had a knack for testing her gag reflex on a daily basis, now she had Belle and Rumpel, as well as Alice and Cyrus. Although she wouldn't admit to anyone she didn't actually mind the two couples present, she might be the evil queen but she still retained some desire for romance and didn't mind seeing some people happy. So long as they weren't the two she hated.

But right then she was trying to focus on what was going on around her. Jafar was rambling on, making her wonder what it was about evil people and their perchance for showy speeches, and Cyrus was standing close by slowly being enveloped by darkness. What she wouldn't give to be able to harness all that power Cyrus had inside him, that would take care of Jafar right then and there. It was then an idea struck her.

"I know how to end this, but there is a little hitch," she stated, earning herself a fiery glare from Rumpel. "Don't look at me like that. That snake staff, someone has to get it from him, he uses it as a medium to direct his power. Yes, he is powerful but he will not be quite as quick without it. If you can get it, and destroy it that is part of the problem taken care of."

Belle nodded, that was pretty much the same thought she'd had. Rumpel, on the other hand, seemed less than impressed.

"That's wonderful, but have you noticed how he's getting quite a bit of this power from a certain genie, dearie?" Rumpel replied in a tight, irritated voice.

"No, is that what he's doing? I never noticed. That's the hitch, Cyrus is the one who's going to have to use that dark power to stop Jafar. The trouble here is he has no idea how to harness it, so there is a very high possibility it is going to run amuck on him no matter what he does. I'm guessing the townsfolk with pitch forks got him before he ever did much with the dark magic he has, so I reiterate, we're screwed. Unless the genie can somehow pull it all together for a few seconds and use it for his own will and not someone else's, which let's face it he doesn't exactly know how to do, we won't be taking Jafar out anytime soon," Regina stipulated, peeking over the hedge again to see what was happening.

Belle could hear Rumpel muttering to himself in annoyance, and she had to admit the plan did have a few holes in it. The main one being it all hinged on Cyrus who had absolutely no clue there was a plan. If they started in on it there was a chance he'd try to stop them, thinking he was doing them a favour when in reality they'd just be hindered. Although Belle was sure he would understand what was going on, they really should not underestimate him.

"Can you do something about the dark magic though? I don't understand magic, but I can't imagine he'd be able to handle the two types," Belle inquired, as Rumpel nodded.

"It will take both Regina and I, but we can lock it away again. The only issue could be he could lose some memories, like when he was first cursed. Sadly though, it is a risk we're going to have to take, although I would hate to have him summoned again to discover he'd reverted to the genie he was centuries ago," he explained.

Regina decided to jump in then, as it seemed with the lack of moving targets Jafar was taking his annoyance out on Cyrus. She couldn't understand what was being said, as the language was foreign to her, but she could see the distress the genie was trying valiantly to keep from showing in his eyes. All this talk was well and good, but that was all it was: talk. They had to act and they had to do it soon.

"Look, it isn't like any of us are going to be able to just stroll over there and let him in on the plan! We either do it, or we just wait for the entire town to go to hell, because that is where this is going. He can't handle this power, look at him. It is going against the magic he already has; Jafar is too drunk on his own desires to even notice. We either go for it, and hope against hope Cyrus realizes what we're doing, or we die. Take your pick, I think you know which way I'm leaning," Regina fumed, fire dancing in her eyes.

Rumpel began to argue with her, and that was when Belle noticed Alice and Will huddled behind a bush by the diner. Waving furiously she hoped to get at least Alice's attention. Much to her relief she did and tried with all her might to let her know that she needed a distraction. It amused her slightly, if one could be amused in this sort of life and death situation, that the two she was with hadn't even noticed what she was up to.

Thankfully, both Alice and Will understood what she wanted, and Alice was quick to let her know they'd do what was needed. Belle only hoped she could somehow get that staff without ending up severely injured, or dead in the process.

As she slowly edged back to where she'd originally been hiding, Alice looked over to Will with a bit of a grin on her face. "Bloody hell, you're going to actually do this?"

"You wanted a spur of the moment, brilliantly stupid course of action and if this isn't one, I don't know what is. So long as we move fast he shouldn't be able to kill us," she told him, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze for luck.

"I asked for a spur of the moment, brilliantly stupid plan, not a sure fire suicide mission. You girls don't understand the difference," he laughed.

Alice simply shrugged at that. "I don't know about that, I always heard it was you boys who have an immortality complex. Either way, if we're going to do this we might as well get at it."

Will shook his head, the stupid things he did for her. He followed her lead as she darted out into the snowy street, waving her arms about in an effort to draw Jafar's attention away from Cyrus and towards them. He only hoped he would survive this so he could embellish the tale of the great heroics he had performed this day all in the name of love for someone else.

"What the hell are those idiots doing?" Regina asked, her eyes wide with shock. "They're going to get themselves killed!"

Rumpel turned to look in the direction Regina was gazing, and Belle saw this as her opportunity to get at that snake staff. She was off like a shot, hiding behind a trash bin close at hand to Jafar and Cyrus, watching with a touch of worry and fear in her eyes as Will and Alice drew the sorcerer's undivided attention towards them. She hoped this would work, as they were quickly running out of options.

Cyrus could hardly believe his eyes, what were his friends doing? Why were Alice and Will currently dashing about in the street instead of hiding? Didn't they realize they were committing suicide? Like always, he appreciated the effort his friends put into helping him, but there was something to be said for self preservation. He didn't want to spend his last moments under Jafar's control, but he also didn't want to witness any of his friend's deaths either.

Cyrus could feel his body weakening with each passing moment, for all of Jafar's intelligence he didn't realize the two types of magic currently racing through his body were at war, and killing him. If the sorcerer had found a way to make one more prominent than the other it might have worked, but Cyrus figured he was just so crazed to get the darkest magic he could find to bend to his will, he never realized the affect it would have on the person he was forcing to contain it until he had need.

He had hoped maybe Jafar would just take it from him, despite the sorcerer swearing it would only dilute the power. Having it stolen would have been far better than this, the constant draining of the power was bad enough, but the fact it was at war with the magic he had due to his existence as a genie was causing him to weaken all the quicker. The only plus was something in Jafar's spell had made it possible for him to use his wish granting magic for his own purpose, which he'd taken advantage of as the sorcerer attacked his friends. He couldn't do much, but he tried at the very least. The dark magic though, that he couldn't figure out how to focus. It was volatile and unpredictable, completely unlike the magic for granting wishes.

There was no magic for this situation though, Alice and Will were nigh on getting themselves killed and all for nothing. It was one thing if he died, but he couldn't bear the thought of either of them getting themselves killed over him.

"Alice, get out of here!" he shouted, feeling frantic as both her and Will were actually waving their arms in an attempt to get Jafar's attention. What did they think they were going to accomplish with this madness?

Unfortunately, if their flailing hadn't attracted the sorcerer's attention, his shouting alerted him to Alice and Will. A deranged grin enveloped Jafar's face, this was what he'd been waiting for. He was going to kill Alice right before the genie's eyes to make sure he knew there was no one in the world who cared about him, in a bid to make him more compliant.

He knew if Cyrus would just accept what was happening the two types of magic would settle, but as always the genie had to fight him at every turn, as the wish had only made him compliant to the casting of the spell, not everything afterwards. He was well aware he had to find another way to put the genie in line, and with Alice gone, he knew all the fight would go out of him, as he wouldn't risk anymore of his friends in Storybrooke if he saw the death of the one person he loved played out right before him. Not that it really mattered if that was enough, he planned to kill every single person in the town just to make Cyrus suffer the agony of watching them all die, and let him know their blood was technically on his hands as it was his dark magic used to do it.

With a wave of his hand, he froze both Alice and Will to the spot, glancing over to Cyrus who was watching with a rather horrified expression on his face. This would be the moment of truth, so far as Jafar was concerned. "You can save everyone Cyrus, all you have to do is submit," he sneered.

"You are well aware what you have done is killing me, I cannot continue on with two types of magic at war inside me," Cyrus retorted, his frustration coming through in his voice.

Jafar rolled his eyes, for someone who had lived centuries he really did not understand magic. "You won't die, not if you just give in to my will. You know what you are Cyrus, you're a slave and the sooner you come to realize that the sooner this all ends. I want your dark magic, but to take it from you will not only kill you, but dilute the power. I don't want a shadow of that power, I want it all and the only way to have it is through you. Stop fighting it and you will survive, and so shall everyone you care about. Just accept what you are."

Alice watched in disbelief, ignoring the burning pain that was flaring up throughout her entire body. Jafar was going to kill her, no matter what Cyrus said or did. She could hear Will groan beside her every so often, evidently in pain as well. Jafar seemed intent on killing them both, and there wasn't a thing they could do to stop it. Even if Cyrus did finally give in, which it seemed he was fairly close to doing, the sorcerer was not going to live up to his promise. Why was he even contemplating agreeing to what Jafar wanted? He should know better, was he really that beaten down that he'd consider agreeing?

"If I do this, you will let them both go? You'll leave all my friends alone, you promise?" Cyrus asked, looking towards Alice apologetically. Somehow he felt like this was betraying her, but he couldn't allow anything to happen to her. Or anyone else, despite all his optimism and everyone placing worth on his friendship he still felt their lives were far more important than his own. As he'd always felt when it came to mortals; they had free will and there was no way they'd pay a price for his well being. There was always a chance, however small, he could get away from Jafar later. For now though, he couldn't allow anyone else to be hurt.

"Of course," Jafar promised in a voice dripping with honey. "I won't hurt any of your friends if you just accept what you are."

Cyrus tore his gaze away from Alice, not wanting to see the hurt in her eyes when he finally agreed to Jafar's terms. A part of him would rather die than be at the man's mercy but he would not allow anyone to be hurt on his account. He only hoped he could figure out a way out of all this once everyone else was safe.

Belle realized this was her chance, Jafar was distracted with what he saw as his victory and the spell he'd cast on Alice and Will was starting to wear off a bit. She grinned as she jumped up from her hiding spot and took off as quickly as she could towards Jafar, if she planned this just right she'd have his staff and wake the pirate up in short succession.

It all happened so fast that Will and Alice weren't sure they'd seen who had taken the staff out of Jafar's lax grip. Belle moved swiftly when there was need, and she was quickly next to the pirate shouting at him, whilst smashing the staff against the corner of the building in a bid to break it, just as Regina and Rumpel came running from their hiding place.

"Wake up!" Belle shouted, rapping Hook over the head with the thicker end of the serpent staff. If he didn't wake up and make his last wish this would all be for naught.

To her delight, Hook began to rouse. He rolled his shoulders and rubbed the top of his head where she's hit him, then glanced up with a half smile. "I prefer a less painful way of being woken up love," he drawled, a sentiment that just earned him a slap.

"Shut up, you need to make a wish when I tell you to, and it better be to send Jafar to some realm where he can never escape to bother any of us again," she snapped, nodding over to the chaos playing out on the street.

Hook glanced over at the scene before him, had he been out that long? He watched in disbelief as the man he'd sworn to kill stood before Alice and Will, in a bid to protect them from everything Jafar was throwing their way. He was having a hard time reconciling this person with the one who had gleefully killed Milah right before his very eyes, and taken his hand in the aftermath.

Again, he wasn't overly keen on doing anyone a favour seeing as he was immune to anything Jafar could throw at him, that didn't mean he was willing to find out what Belle might do to him if he refused to make the wish. He also reasoned he wasn't impervious to anything Cyrus might throw at him, seeing as there was a chance he might be able to use the magic Jafar had unlocked to his own advantage. Just this once, Hook decided to do something to benefit the group instead of just himself.

"Fine, just tell me when to make the wish love and I will, but in the mean time could you remove the jagged end of that broken staff from my throat?" he inquired.

Belle smirked. "I don't think so."

From her vantage point, Regina could tell Belle had succeeded with her end of the plan, and Rumpel was keeping Jafar rather busy. She wasn't having much luck taking him out but she knew they couldn't pull it off, he had a lot of power despite they'd taken his staff from him. No, the person who had to bring him down was the very one he'd been hunting for years. She and Rumpel were powerful, but not to the same extent the genie now was. For them, they needed to get at his heart in order to control him or kill him. But with Cyrus, he could do it with a flick of his hand if the urge struck him. She didn't want the genie to actually kill Jafar, but immobilizing him would certainly help their case. Normally they could do that, yet she'd tried several times and Jafar really was too powerful as he broke the enchantment in a second. Their chances of defeating him all hung on one person.

"Cyrus!" she shouted, getting his attention away from everything going on around him. "You have to use that dark magic of yours and you need to use it now!"

The genie looked at her oddly, not fully understanding what exactly she wanted him to do. He had no idea how to focus it, unlike when he granted wishes. In that case he didn't need to know a spell or how to focus anything, it just came to him. This was completely different.

"Are you by any chance angry Cyrus?" Regina asked, her voice firm. "This crazed man has tried to kill the woman you love; he's imprisoned you on numerous occasions, has used you and hunted you down. If that is not enough to get the fire going, you are imprisoned in a bottle for all eternity, and anyone who finds you views you as a bit of property, all because of your family. You did absolutely nothing wrong and yet you're the one paying the price. Tap into that anger and focus the power that is to blame for your situation and help us bring Jafar down!"

Cyrus turned his attention from Regina back to Jafar, starting to feel the magic begin to focus. He normally would not admit to feelings of anger, as they did him little to no good, but as he watched Jafar taunting Alice and the rest with all the horrid things he would do to them before he finally killed them, he couldn't help but let the emotion wash over him.

How many people had Jafar hurt or killed in his quest to find him? How many more would have died if he hadn't been found in Wonderland? He couldn't help feeling angry at himself for believing, even for a moment, that Jafar would have let Alice and the rest of his friends live if he'd just submitted to his will. Something had to be done and for once he wasn't powerless to stop it, just this once he actually could use magic to fight back.

Jafar turned when he felt a burst of magic graze him, looking at Regina with a sneer. "Do you really think you're going to take me down, little queen?" he taunted, just as he felt his breathing constrict.

"Ah, how nice to see you have a mute button, I really was getting tired of listening to you and your long winded speeches. Really, brevity is not a talent you villains have, is it?" Regina teased, putting her hands on her hips just to show she wasn't the one currently controlling how much air he was allowed.

Jafar looked over at Cyrus with a hint of shock in his eyes. There was nothing of the submissive genie standing there before him, he'd never seen Cyrus angry before and it wasn't exactly something he'd care to see again. He tried to summon some form of magic to fight back with, but instead found his arms frozen to his side; as well it seemed any magic he did have felt as though it was fading away.

He had been aware he'd been playing a dangerous game bringing that dark magic out, maybe if he'd gotten his hands on Cyrus and his bottle years ago this would have played out differently. Before anyone could have put any notions of friendship and love in the genie's mind, giving him a reason to fight.

Will was actually shocked at what was going on, the expression of anger on Cyrus' face was rather frightening, but he reasoned the man had every right to be upset. Yet that didn't mean he could idly stand there and wait to see if the genie would give into a darker urge and kill the sorcerer. As much as Will felt having Jafar dead would be the best thing for them, he didn't want to see Cyrus live with the guilt of taking a life. It was one thing to do it when you're mortal with a short life span to deal with the guilt, but the fact he had the bad luck to spend years at a time alone, the guilt would likely ruin him.

With the sound of Belle shouting in the background for Hook to make a wish, Will dashed over behind Cyrus and grabbed him in an effort to break his concentration. "Come on mate, we don't need to kill the nasty sorcerer," he reasoned, noting that Cyrus wasn't loosening whatever magical hold he had over Jafar. "Bloody hell, I get it and trust me, he deserves anything he gets but you don't want to kill him. You're not that sort of person."

"All due consideration, I'm a genie, not a person like you," Cyrus snapped, motioning his extended hand in a way that caused Jafar to struggle even more for air.

Will quickly realized this was getting out of hand, and fast. It likely was a good thing those people had tethered Cyrus to a bottle for all time, although he did wonder if maybe a lot of what was happening at that very moment was a build up of anger, resentment and frustration. He couldn't even begin to imagine everything Cyrus had seen over the centuries or what he'd dealt with but right then he had a feeling the genie was seeing every master who had treated him poorly and was taking it all out on Jafar. The concept of finally having power, after technically being powerless for so long would be a wonderful feeling. It was one thing to be a quick thinker and good with a sword, this was a much more alluring power.

"Listen, you might be a genie but to all of us here you're a person just like us. You're in Storybrooke now, and just because you are seeing humans walking the streets the majority of us were something completely different in another place. This is a place you can start to have a chance at the life that was taken from you all those centuries ago, you may still be tethered to that bottle but you can start to actually live instead of just existing. If you do this, trust me, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, or tomorrow but one day it will catch up with you and I can tell you're not the cruel type Cyrus," Will insisted, his voice firm but a trace of worry was in it. "You're not some possession to be owned and controlled Cyrus, you're a person just like the rest of us. Someone Alice loves, and there are many more here who care for you. Don't do this."

Will thought for a moment he was getting through to him, but still he refused to relent. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled the piece of silverware out that he'd borrowed from the diner. He didn't want to do this, it did make him feel like he was contradicting what he'd just said in a way, but he couldn't let Cyrus kill the sorcerer, no matter how much he longed to have the man out of all their lives permanently.

"Sorry mate, I hope you can forgive me," he said just as he pressed the piece of silver up against the exposed skin on Cyrus' neck.

The genie cried out in shock when he felt the metal burning him, his hold on Jafar instantly broken. Will refused to let him out of his grasp, and moved the piece of silver around to keep from giving him too deep a burn. He had to keep him busy so a wish could be made to get rid of Jafar. He was afraid Cyrus would be tempted to return to making a very convincing attempt to kill the sorcerer before Hook finally made his last wish and he wouldn't let that happen.

Belle watched as Jafar collapsed to the ground, gasping for much needed air. She then turned her attention to Hook and told him to make his wish as she leveled him with a look to kill, and it very well could if she decided to impale him with the broken staff.

"Alright! Calm down love!" Hook exclaimed, raising his hands up to show he gave in. "Genie, I wish for Jafar to be sent to a realm where he can cause no harm!"

Will fell over when Cyrus suddenly stopped fighting him, the change was so sudden he hadn't been prepared. He watched in awe as Cyrus straightened up and a golden light appeared between his hands. "As you wish, master mine," he said, and the light disappeared just as suddenly as it appeared, as did Jafar.

With the final wish granted, an orange mist began to swirl around Cyrus, who just stood there looking resigned to what was happening. Will was about to say something when suddenly the mist vanished and it was more than obvious someone had stopped the process of the genie returning to his bottle.

He looked up questioningly as Rumpel and Regina walked over, the latter clutching the bottle in her slender hands. "Where did you get that?" he inquired, standing up whilst brushing the snow off his jeans.

"The Blue Fairy had it with her for some reason, so I figured I would relieve her of it. Now, we have a spell to cast and you're in the way, unless of course we want to see if Cyrus will continue with his slightly murderous streak if we don't try to repeat what was done centuries ago," Regina told him.

Will had no argument there, he'd rather not find out just how much chaos could be caused if that magic was let loose again. He had a feeling they'd only seen a fraction of what could be done, as Jafar was only just discovering what he could do with it and Cyrus wasn't skilled with the power he was actually born with.

He dashed over to where Alice and Belle were standing, soon to be followed by a rather groggy looking Grumpy and David. "Did we miss anything?" David asked, looking around to discover Jafar was missing.

Alice laughed. "A lot actually, but the important thing is Jafar is gone for good. But what are we going to do with these two?"

Belle informed Hook he was leaving, and never returning. He made to argue when David jumped in. "I really think it would be in your best interest to leave if you want the truth there, pirate. You've angered a lot of people, I know Rumpelstiltskin has turned over a new leaf but I doubt he'd be against going after you for all that's happened here. Belle looks about ready to impale you, I've heard Alice is rather talented with a sword as well and I'm guessing that Cyrus might want to have a go at you, so maybe you'd like to consider hopping on your boat and rowing your way out of our little town, never looking back," he suggested, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hook stood up, weighing his options. Belle did have a bit of a murderous look to her, something told him she'd be more than happy to plant the jagged end of that staff in his heart. He had no desire to go up against Rumpelstiltskin again, and if Alice learned how to use a sword from her genie then he figured it was a safe bet he didn't want to even try to go up against her. He'd never seen either in action with a blade, but with how cunning Cyrus was he was in no mood to test out their skill. Not to mention he really didn't want to stick around to see if that spell would work to contain the dark magic in the genie. He wanted revenge for what Rumpelstiltskin had done to him, but he also knew when to make a retreat. He was no match for someone with magic. "You know, that is a sound piece of advice you gave me there. I think I might just row myself away from this fair port. But mark my words, if any of you ever find your way onto my ship again I will not be as hospitable the next time," he conceded as he edged away from Belle to make a quick retreat.

He'd had more than enough of magic and myths. All he wanted was to hit the open seas and maybe have a few glasses of rum. Or maybe a few bottles, he was starting to think bottles of rum would be better.

"One down, what about her?" Grumpy asked, gesturing towards the Blue Fairy who was just starting to come around.

"Leave that to me," Will chirped as he walked towards where the fairy was beginning to sit up in the slush and snow. "I see you're alliance with Jafar went out the window pretty fast," he taunted, to which she scowled. "Oh, I know you could still cause some damage, but you see, I know a thing or two about fairies. Met a few in my day you see, and I know one thing that will put you in your place."

"And what is that?" she snapped.

"I don't believe in you," he said, his eyes twinkling with disdain.

Alice was surprised by how cruel Will sounded as he uttered those words, it seemed a horrid thing to say to someone, but then she realized why he'd said it. Nothing much changed, but there was a change in the Blue Fairy. An essence went out of her, she appeared to wilt somewhat. Will pushed up from his kneeling position, leaving the Blue Fairy to deal with the consequences of her actions, and sauntered over to Alice.

"That was rather cruel," she stated, crossing her arms across her chest.

Will shrugged. "It got the job done. She's powerless now, if you don't believe in fairies they lose their magic, and trust me, she needed to lose it. I've been in Storybrooke long enough to know she wasn't right, and after this whole business with Jafar she's more than proven she was driven with a lust for power. With her out of the way, Hook buggered off and Jafar banished there is no reason we can't have some peace for awhile."

"That would be a nice change," Alice agreed, her gaze moving from Will towards where Regina and Rumpel were standing working some spell or other on Cyrus. It almost seemed surreal to her to think the struggles were finally over, their enemies were no longer a threat and it was possible her and Cyrus could enjoy some peace.

She enjoyed the adventures they had gone on, but a small part of her just longed to be in one place for awhile, and this town intrigued her, as did this world. There were so many amazing things she'd seen, just in the days since she'd arrived. She longed to learn more of the people in Storybrooke, and to discover more about this strange land.

"I think they're done," Belle ventured to guess, watching as the orange smoke enveloped Cyrus and then was drawn back into his bottle, which Regina held in her hands. They both proceeded to walk over to where the rest of them were standing, looking tired.

Alice wanted nothing more than to summon him back out of the bottle, but Rumpel quickly raised a hand to stop her from grabbing it from Regina. "I think not dearie, we all need a rest. Leave him in there for the time being, like all of us he's been through a lot and needs some sleep. Myself, I would rather enjoy a cup of tea and then a very, very long respite from all this," he said as Regina handed him the bottle, being oddly careful not to jostle it too much.

"What?" she snapped when Will looked at her curiously. "There's someone in there, in case you failed to notice what just happened. I'm not that cruel."

"I didn't say a word," he drawled, a twinkle of mirth in his eyes. Alice rolled hers; he really did enjoy getting on people's last nerves when he could.

* * *

Despite the stress and exertions of the day, Rumpel found himself unable to sleep at around 3:30 in the morning, give or take a few minutes. When he glanced at the clock in annoyance he realized there was no point in laying idly in bed, he may as well get up and find something productive to do.

There was no one to sit with this night, to keep the nightmares away. He'd actually grown accustom to his nightly vigils at Cyrus' bedside, sipping tea whilst he read a book waiting for the genie to nod back off after some hot cocoa. He did not long for the nightmares to haunt Cyrus, but he did miss the routine.

On this night he knew that room was empty, unless of course Alice had decided to sleep in the empty bed which was a very good possibility. But he was not going to disturb her, although he couldn't resist the urge to just peek in the room to make sure she was sleeping soundly.

He chuckled softly to himself as he picked up the robe draped on a nearby chair; how easily he had fallen back into being parental. For more years than he could remember he'd longed for love but had shut everyone out, Belle included, certain he did not deserve it after what had transpired with his son. Despite what Belle had said in the Enchanted Forest all that time ago he could not reconcile the idea of him being deserving of love.

She had proven him wrong, and he had pushed her away in a bout of fear. What was he without his powers? Nothing, just the coward everyone assumed he was. Even his wife belittled him, telling him he was nothing more than a coward for what he'd done. No one listened; he'd done that so his son would not grow up without a father. It is one thing to live knowing your father had died a hero, but a dead hero does not tell bedtime stories or comfort you in times of need.

But really, who had been the coward? Milah had run away from a life she swore she could not handle at her first chance. She had left her son, without much of a thought, she didn't even return to say good bye to him, to Rumpel that would fall under cowardice.

When he'd allowed Bae to go through that portal he knew he'd been a coward, he feared life without magic. He couldn't go back to being powerless, even for his son. It was irony that after that he would have gladly given all of it up just to have him back. Instead, he'd created a curse that would bring him to the land without magic he was in.

Voices could be heard talking in soft tones from the living room, perking his curiosity. Will had gone back to his apartment after all was said and done, as had the rest returned to their homes and families. Belle and Alice had sworn they were exhausted and had headed for bed the moment they'd entered the house, only taking a moment to make sure the genie's bottle was safe in the cupboard again, under lock and key.

The flicker of candle light could be seen coming from the room as he walked down the hall, and when he entered the room he saw the two women sitting on the chesterfield, a few candles flickering on the coffee table. Sitting on the table was Cyrus' bottle, as well as a book that looked as if it had seen better days.

"What are you two doing? I told you to let him be for awhile yet, we have to decide who will summon him," he said as he sat down in the chair across from them.

Alice bit her bottom lip, glancing down to the book on the table. She and Belle couldn't decide if they should read the contents. Their longing to know what was contained within was almost killing them, but they also wondered if it was knowledge they really needed. "We have a book," she stated, to which Rumpel laughed slightly.

"I can see that, and one that looks like it has been through a century or two. Where did this book come from?" he inquired. He would let the state the obvious thing slide as it was rather early to be up.

"Nova gave it to me. She came along just as we were leaving, wanting to see Grumpy. It seems when Will rendered Blue powerless whatever hold she had over all the fairies dropped. Nova has always harboured feelings for Grumpy, but was too afraid to express them with Blue still around. Now that she can't tell any of them what to do she decided to follow her own desires and came to make sure he had survived.

"When she was done fussing over him, she caught me and gave me this book. She explained it was from Blue's personal library, and one that had always struck Nova as an odd one to have. I asked her what she meant by that and she flat out told me it was an account of the person known now as the original Dark One, but more to the point, an account of how his son was cursed to be a genie," Belle explained.

Now Rumpel understood their trepidation with the book. He had no idea why they'd brought the bottle out of the locked cupboard, but figured they had some reason or other behind it.

He could understand why they were wary of reading the account; it was almost as if they were betraying him in a sense. To have that knowledge when he had no memories of it would almost seem wrong. And of course there would be the dilemma of if they should tell him or keep it from him. But Rumpel could tell there was another reason that Alice, in particular, was apprehensive about reading what was written in the pages of the book. "You're afraid to find out he was once a completely different person."

Alice blushed and looked down at the book laying close to the bottle the genie she loved was inside. "You saw him, if Will hadn't burned him with that silver he was very intent on killing Jafar. I've never seen him like that before, so consumed with anger and even hate. The Cyrus I knew and loved in Wonderland would have never longed to kill anyone," she confessed, feeling childish for even thinking in a way that seemed superficial to her.

Rumpel sighed, he'd had a feeling that was what was bothering her. He hadn't been overly surprised by the way Cyrus had reacted when Regina had told him to tap into any anger he harboured over Jafar's treatment of him. He was fairly certain Cyrus had focused all the anger and frustration over his long life in that very moment, wanting Jafar to pay the ultimate price for the mistreatment he'd received from every cruel master, even the people he could not remember from his mortal life, he wanted Jafar to suffer and answer for it all.

The only difference was if Cyrus had killed Jafar, he would have eventually come to regret it. Although they both had the same darkness, be it the dark magic Rumpel possessed from the dagger used to kill the genie's father was diluted, there was a difference between them: Cyrus would live to regret taking that life in a fit of anger. Rumpel did regret some of his actions back in the Enchanted Forest, but not enough to say he was sorry he'd done any of them. He knew Cyrus would forever regret killing Jafar, no matter how much one could reason the sorcerer deserved it.

"We all evolve over the span of our lives, so who he was in that book could be different from the person you fell in love with, or it could be he's always been the way you know him. Just by looking at him it is a safe bet he wasn't far in life when he became a genie, so the personality you've seen likely is exactly who he is. But we all change as we age Alice, one day you'll change, so will Belle. I've changed, despite the fact I'm immortal now I have changed a great deal from who I was back in the Enchanted Forest and even who I was before I became the Dark One. Given the chance Cyrus could very well change, although I know nothing about genies so it is hard to predict," Rumpel assured her, smiling warmly.

Alice nodded, knowing he was likely right. She had changed a lot over the years, and there was a good chance whatever she read in the book before her wasn't who Cyrus was anymore. She reasoned there was a possibility that in being cursed his personality stayed the way it was at that time, no one really knew much about genies and talking to Sidney was no help in that matter. He'd told them that genies like Cyrus were rare, it wasn't often a mortal was cursed into that life.

"By the by, since you have his bottle sitting out here, were you planning on tossing it on the chance you didn't like what you read?" Rumpel asked, still trying to figure out why Alice had brought it out of its safe place in the cupboard.

Belle laughed and jumped in. "No, nothing like that. I think it is just a case of it would feel like she was reading it with him."

"It is a nice sentiment, but he's in a bottle asleep and you're sitting there deciding if you're going to read it by candlelight. If it will ease your mind, read the account in the book. The spell we cast on him should have locked the dark magic inside him again, so I doubt he'll go off in another fit of anger. Besides, you are the woman he loves and you were a good mistress to him, so I highly doubt he'd hurt you," he said, watching as Alice slowly reached out and picked up the book.

Much to the surprise of the other two in the room, she handed it to Belle and asked if she would read it aloud. "I know you'll both want to know as well, so it would be easier to have it done and over with. Later, we can let Cyrus read it. Even if it is horrid, I don't think it would be fair to keep it from him," Alice reasoned.

"That sounds fair dearie, you certainly are a special young lady and he is lucky to have been found by you," Rumpel said as Belle carefully opened the book.

Alice blushed at his words. "I don't deserve him."

Rumpel leaned forward in his seat and reached across the table to grasp Alice's hands in his, careful of the candles and the genie's bottle. "And I'm sure he feels he doesn't deserve someone like you either, but in truth we all deserve to be happy, no matter the duration."

_AN: I do not find it easy to write action, so I hope that was alright. :)_

_Thanks so much for the reviews and follows, I really appreciate it. I was not really sure this story was worth posting in all honesty, so I'm glad people are enjoying it. I should be back with the last two chapters soon. The next is the back story I wrote for Cyrus (as the show took their sweet time on it, but it fits with this little alternate universe), and then the final chapter._

_Strange, I feel kind of sad it is almost over...and I'm the one writing it._


	12. Love through Tragedy

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Persia – Many lifetimes ago

Everything about this plan felt wrong, but he was afraid to voice his opinion as his father spoke in hushed tones with a few other men from the small village they resided in. He knew logically something had to be done, they could not continue to be terrorized by this sorcerer and his two daughters, but he couldn't find it in his heart to agree with this course of action.

"Darius! Your mind is wandering to places it need not be," his father, Obediah, snapped.

Darius shook his head slightly to rid himself of sentimental thoughts. They were talking of punishing his friend, the boy he'd grown up with and played with as a child. Was it his friend's fault he'd been born into such a wicked family? Why did he have to be punished for all eternity for their evil ways?

"I am sorry father, I will try to stay focused on the task at hand," he apologized, looking at the other men in the room and giving a small smile.

His uncle, Giv, grunted. "That would be best, as you are our best chance of getting even close enough to enacting this revenge."

Darius sighed. "But why? Can we not punish the guilty, why do we have to punish Cyrus? He hasn't done anything."

Obediah slammed his fist down on the table, causing it to rattle with the force. "We cannot get near his father or older siblings, but you know as well as I do in him there is the potential to be even more powerful than those who came before him. His family must be taught a lesson, and if stealing their youngest is the answer then so be it. We cannot be terrorized by this evil any longer, or allow yet another to join the ranks."

"I know, but it feels wrong to punish him for the sins of his family. The mother is nothing like her husband and two eldest children, perhaps he will become more like her?" he questioned in a vain hope to make them all see reason.

The man who had come up with the daring plot, Avan, shook his head. "There is no risking it. I know he is your friend, and I am somewhat loathed to take such a drastic course of action, but we cannot take this chance. Shah has always sensed great power in Cyrus, more than his father and older siblings. You've seen the disastrous occurrences that have happened, and that is with him not even fully aware of the powerful magic he has."

Shah, one of the elders of the village, reached out and placed a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "It pains us all to feel as though our hand has been forced to such drastic actions, but you have seen how Kasper is. No one can stand against him, not for fear of what evil he will bring down upon their head. Now is the only time we have for this, everything is in place. It pains me greatly to wound Essie with such actions, but we must do something. It might take the loss of a child to finally bring reason to them, for there is nothing more painful then such a loss in your life."

Darius nodded sadly, he knew Shah spoke the truth. Years ago he'd lost his oldest son when the man had angered Kasper. Never one to let things go, he'd used dark magic to exact his revenge, a revenge that ended in the death of the one who had angered him. Many people had lost loved ones or their livelihoods at the hands of Kasper and his powerful magic. His two oldest children were only beginning to exhibit talent half as powerful as their father and no one wanted to risk a chance the youngest would eventually succumb to the lure of the power he held, considering he had the potential to be the most powerful.

No one knew exactly why Cyrus had such powerful magic within him, but many had sensed it since he was a young boy. The older children had taken until almost adulthood to show any magical abilities, whilst he began to exhibit these abilities in childhood. This was a worrying thought, and they had to do something before it was too late.

"I wish we could punish the father, as well as Aara and Adileh," Darius whispered, glancing down at the table.

"Believe me son, I wish we could as well. This must be done, and it must be tonight. You will bring Cyrus here as we planned. Take comfort in the knowledge that he will remember none of this after he is tethered to that bottle," Obediah assured him, nodding towards the brass bottle on a nearby shelf.

"It is the only comfort I can find in this horrid thing I am about to do," Darius said, his voice flat.

* * *

As they walked towards the small house, Darius felt sick. It had been easy enough to find Cyrus as he was normally at home with his mother. Many in the village, at least those who did not fear him, assumed he was still a bit of a child for his attachment to his mother but Darius knew better. He knew Essie grieved the path her husband and two eldest had taken in life, and her youngest tried to keep her company and cheerful.

It broke his heart that he would likely be the cause of her early death, for he had no doubt she would be heartbroken when the fate of her youngest became known to her.

"Why are you so serious my friend? It is a beautiful night, look at the colours of the sunset, it reminds me of a flickering flame," Cyrus said, pulling Darius out of his thoughts.

He smiled slightly, trying to assure his friend it was nothing. "My father has been having troubles lately, and they weigh heavy on my mind is all. Do not worry about me."

Cyrus frowned slightly at that. "I am sorry to hear that, I wish there was something I could do to make your worries disappear," he commented, to which Darius winced slightly. Wishes, there was nothing good that ever came of wishes. Just the use of the word made his heart ache; if only his friend knew that word would soon become his only reason to exist.

They continued on in silence, every so often Darius was glance over at his friend in a bid to commit him to memory. He couldn't help but wonder what, if any, changes would come over his friend once this curse was complete. The rest called it a spell, but to Darius it was a curse. He wondered if he would change in appearance, or just personality. There was nothing particularly striking about Cyrus, many of the girls in the village liked his looks but were afraid of his family. He dressed simply and had a personality that could put anyone at ease. Again, Darius regretted what was about to happen, if only people would give him a chance. But he knew well enough people had a habit of painting all with the same brush when it came to families.

It was then Darius noticed Obediah up ahead leaning against the door frame of their small house. It amazed him that Kasper had never harmed his family, despite the fact they'd likely angered him a few times. Maybe it was for Cyrus' sake that he had not, or the offenses just were not large enough to be bothered wasting energy on. Either way, he was thankful that they'd never felt the man's wrath.

After this night, it could all change. He only hoped and prayed that Shah was right, and the loss of a child would be enough to show Kasper the error of his ways, for it would be a result of his evil actions that forced the hands of the people of the village in this awful punishment.

Darius said nothing as Obediah greeted Cyrus, and they engaged in small talk as he ushered the young man into the house. Although it struck Darius slightly strange to find Avan, Giv and Shah all sitting in the main room of the house, it did not seem to faze Cyrus who carried on with some merry chatter of some sort.

It had always struck Darius how different Cyrus was from his father and older sisters, he was one of the most outgoing people he'd ever met. It was a shame many were afraid of him, as they were missing out on having a very good friend. Yes, he had a lot of power and had used it on occasion with horrid results, and Cyrus told people it was accidental but it actually had been him trying to figure out how exactly to use the magic he had.

The first few tries had resulted in some destroyed property, but nothing that couldn't be fixed after he'd apologized profusely and swore he'd mend everything. That normally appeased the offended party, although they both wondered if they were just happy Cyrus was going to fix it or glad his father wouldn't be brought into the problem.

The last time he'd ever tried using his magic it had ended poorly. Neither of them ever figured out what went wrong, but it had almost resulted in Darius' death. Cyrus blamed himself for it, but Darius knew it was his own fault. He had encouraged his friend to try to use magic when he didn't want to. Thankfully he survived, although Cyrus found himself in more trouble than he could deal with when it came to Obediah. Darius never did find out what happened, but for a good six months Cyrus would not even come near his family.

That memory made Darius wonder if his own father wasn't on board with this for his own twisted sense of revenge as well. He said he'd forgiven Cyrus for what happened, but words could be meaningless. Darius knew that well, he'd had many friends come and go in his life, Cyrus was the only one he considered a true friend and now he was betraying him in the worst possible way.

The idle conversation carried on for a few more minutes, until Cyrus noticed the bottle on the shelf. He made a comment on it was rather nice looking and that was when both Avan and Giv moved swiftly to restrain the young man.

Cyrus cried out in surprise and tried to fight them off, but both together were physically too strong for him. Of course, if he tapped into the magic that ran in his family's blood he could easily free himself, and possibly destroy everything around him if the notion struck him. But Darius knew he wouldn't, he swore he would never use it again and Cyrus was always true to his word.

Darius watched, feeling as if he was in a bad dream. His father took the bottle off the shelf whilst Shah began reciting some words in a language he didn't understand. Whilst Darius did not know what was being said, it was obvious Cyrus did. He began to fight all the harder in a bid to get away, yelling that his father would come for him if they did not stop soon. It was an idle threat; the man may be all powerful but he thankfully wasn't all seeing. Darius almost wished Kasper did know what was happening, anything to stop this insanity. Although he couldn't help the slight thrill he felt when either of the men restraining his friend winced, at least Cyrus had managed to get a few good hits in.

"I'm sorry Cyrus, but your father needs to learn that the taking of lives will only result in the taking of something dear to him as well," Obediah explained over Shah's reciting. "It pains me to do this, but you know as well as the rest that you are even more powerful than they are. We cannot risk it; you and your power will be locked away in this bottle for eternity. You know as well as everyone else that a genie is never free of a life of servitude to his masters."

Those last few words spoken froze Cyrus in his struggles, a look of extreme fear washing over his face. They were going to punish him for eternity over crimes he had not committed. He had done nothing wrong, and when he had he'd done his best to make things right.

He glanced over at the table, where the bottle that would soon be his only sanctuary from mortals stood. He could feel the spell taking hold, and he couldn't resist it no matter how hard he tried. Cyrus glanced at Obediah, almost convinced the man was taking pleasure in this and would most likely take any joy he could get out of his predicament once someone summoned him back out of that bottle.

He was well aware the man did not like him, despite they both were cordial to each other, not after the near death accident of his son. Cyrus had never told Darius exactly why he'd stayed away for so long after that; Obediah had gotten a hold of him and just about beaten him to death for it in a blind fit of rage. It had taken a lot of arguing with his own father, but he'd managed to keep Kasper from coming for revenge. His father was many of the horrid things he was called by all around, but he'd do anything for his children and respect their wishes.

What his father would do this time, he couldn't even begin to predict. He hoped the man would not bring anything down upon Darius and his family, and as much as he wanted this to be a short lived sentence, he knew the lore well; he would never be free again. It really was the perfect punishment; he just felt it was the wrong person who was receiving it, but evil would live on and there were legends of less than benevolent genies out there who would trick their masters into taking their place in a bid to be free. Evidently they didn't want to risk that, and so he had been the best choice for this punishment.

"Let him go, he won't fight now," Obediah instructed, as Avan and Giv let go of Cyrus who collapsed onto the floor.

Darius ignored his father's stern look and went over to his friend, kneeling next to him. Cyrus didn't seem to be fully aware of what was going on around him anymore; he just laid there with his eyes half closed, breathing rapidly. Darius could tell he was panicking over what was happening but no longer had the energy left to fight.

Before anyone could stop him he reached out and took one of his friend's hands in his, in an effort to comfort him. It was too late to stop what was happening, he could already see there was some change coming over his friend. It wasn't an obvious one but he could sense a different magic flowing through Cyrus, and the darker one seemed to have all but vanished.

"I'm so sorry Cyrus," Darius softly said, keeping his tone low enough that only his friend should be able to hear him.

Cyrus inclined his head so he could look at his friend, smiling sadly as he forced his eyes open. "There is nothing to forgive. I only ask one thing, please give me to someone with a good heart first," he entreated just as an orange mist enveloped his entire body.

The strange mist slowly spread throughout the room, causing them all to feel as if they were blind for a few lingering moments. When it dissipated all that was left were five men and the bottle. It was then that Darius finally broke down and wept for the first time since the death of his mother.

* * *

News of Cyrus' disappearance spread fast through the village, although it did surprise Darius to open the door one afternoon to find Aara and Adileh on his doorstep.

He'd always considered them pretty girls, according to his father they took after their mother in her youth, and Darius took his word on that as time and the worries caused by her husband and daughters wore heavy on her. According to Obediah all the children had pleasing features and hair that fell in soft waves as had once been what she was renowned for. Both girls could likely have their pick of any men of the village, and even the surrounding villages but as they were both known for their practices in dark magic most stayed clear of them.

"Have you seen Cyrus? It is not like him to be missing this long," Adileh inquired, a concerned look on her face.

Aara looked almost frantic, making Darius feel sick. He'd forgotten how close the siblings were. Cyrus didn't agree with the path his sisters had taken in life, but knew it was their choice. They had finally accepted the fact he would not be taking after their father and let him alone about his refusal to use magic and tried to keep Kasper from harassing his son too much on the matter. But it didn't mean they didn't love each other any less. Darius knew if Cyrus was ever to have used his magic again, it would have been to help his sisters or mother.

Before he could answer, his father walked up behind him and invited both young women in. He was glad it was Aara and Adileh who had come inquiring after their brother, he was fairly certain if it had been Kasper who had knocked on the door he would have leveled their home once the news was broken to him, killing them instantly.

Although this wasn't going to be the full truth, all present at the time had practiced the story over and over, to be sure they all knew what to say if any of the family should come and inquire after Cyrus. He swore after having to repeat it so many times he could likely recite the horrid story in his sleep.

"It is strange for your brother to be missing for so long, he is rarely from home," Obediah commented, to which Adileh nodded as she set down her cup of tea. Aara had yet to touch the tea she'd been given, it would seem she was the more emotional of the two. "My son and I actually went searching for him a few days ago, for you know they are good friends. We had heard from a few people that they'd seen Cyrus walking outside of town and so we thought to look for him, thinking he may have been injured.

"We found nothing, no trace of him. It made our hearts heavy as we had hoped to bring him home safely. Just as we were walking back my son saw a bottle by a rock and decided to pick it up. We thought nothing much of it, but when we brought it home a terrible discovery was made."

Darius stood, as he had been instructed and went to his room as his father continued the story. That was where the bottle was being kept, as he'd unhappily become his friend's master. It felt like a cruel twist to this whole sad event, and had been even sadder when it was more than obvious there was truth to the fact he'd remember nothing. Cyrus had no idea who he was, the only thing he'd longed to do was whatever Darius wanted.

It was that fact which made him wonder why they hadn't tried to do this to the offending parties instead, but Shah had explained that although the person's memories would be wiped the evil would still remain. They all maintained that Cyrus would eventually be consumed by evil just as his father had been, but Darius swore they all jumped to the conclusion too soon. But then, most were too afraid to get to know anyone related to Kasper and had condemned Cyrus before even giving him a chance.

The sound of someone sobbing alerted him to the fact his father had reached the worst part of the tale. "I suppose I may well return," he muttered as he grasped the bottle in his hand, careful not to jostle it too much. He hated the sight of it, and longed to throw it as far away from himself as he could but knew he could not be rid of it until he made his three wishes. And that was something he sadly could not bring himself to do.

He was thankful for one thing, as he re-entered the kitchen where they had been talking, his grief would be taken to be over the loss of his friend. Neither of the sisters would even assume he had anything to do with this, and there was a chance they'd never discover who exactly had cursed their brother for eternity. There were more people in the village who could work magic to their will, but kept how powerful they were to themselves. It took someone with a great deal of power to curse a mortal into the life of a genie, and it was a good thing they would never know who could perform such a spell.

Both girls looked up at him when he stopped just past the doorway, reluctant to continue on into the room. Obediah simply nodded towards him, indicating it was time to show the sisters what they had supposedly discovered outside of the village.

He pulled the cork out and watched as the orange mist began to spill forth and a few seconds later Cyrus appeared before them. Darius never ceased to marvel at his appearance now; his friend reminded him of a prince in his rich clothing and jewelry. But unlike a prince he stood with his hands clasped before him, and his head bowed. And finally he spoke the words he'd been trying to grow accustom to hearing: master mine, my will is thine.

Aara was the first to react. She had been in the process of bringing her cup of tea up towards her lips when Darius had released Cyrus, and upon seeing him she'd dropped the cup in her shock. It shattered and the milky liquid spilled out onto the wooden floor. She was on her feet in seconds and standing before Cyrus, grasping him by the shoulders and looking into his face.

Cyrus showed no recognition when he saw Aara, or Adileh, for that matter. When Aara grabbed him he actually looked frightened, as he did not understand what was happening. Even the sight of her crying did not seem to bring out any reaction in him, which only made her tears come all the quicker.

"Aara, stop it!" Adileh snapped, standing up and walking towards her sister and brother. She pulled Aara away from Cyrus, looking at him strangely. "What have they done?"

Again, Cyrus didn't say anything, he simply stood there and waited for someone, namely Darius, to instruct him. He didn't answer his sister, he didn't even realize they were his sisters. Darius had hoped there would be a chance, ever so slight, he'd at least remember his sisters. But it was true he'd remember nothing; as far as Cyrus could tell he'd always been a genie.

Obediah spoke up, instructing Darius to get rid of Cyrus. That bothered him, making him even more suspicious his father had been a willing participant in this plan. He hated telling his friend to return to his bottle but he had no choice in the matter. He was clueless as to why Cyrus couldn't listen to the story, but wasn't about to question his father.

With a few words, Cyrus vanished and Obediah continued the false tale, stating he'd heard there were people wishing to punish Kasper and his family for all the havoc he had brought down on the people of the village over the years. Aara continued to weep throughout the story, glancing every so often to the bottle Darius held in his hands with tear soaked eyes. She had adored her little brother, and Darius could see she was in absolute agony that he was the one paying for their mistakes.

Adileh was the harder one to read. She stayed stoic throughout the story and never glanced towards the bottle once. She didn't even admonish Aara for her tears and weeping. Darius could almost see the wheels in her mind turning and wondered what exactly she planned to do. They knew they couldn't free Cyrus; everyone knew to free a genie was to bring tragedy upon yourself and the genie and he still had not used any of his wishes so Cyrus still belonged to him.

Another thought that made him flinch inwardly. He really disliked thinking of his friend that way, and longed to treat him as he always had. Yet he knew that was impossible, his father made sure to always be around when he released Cyrus from his bottle and had even put a bit of effort into finding what substance would inflict injury upon him. All lore told each genie would have something different that would hurt them, and for Cyrus it turned out to be silver.

When his father finished speaking, Adileh thanked him for telling them what had become of their brother, as well as apologized for the broken teacup. She then collected her weeping sister and led her out of the house and for what Darius could only assume would be their own home.

He finally felt he could breathe easier once they were gone, despite he was still in possession of that hateful bottle. If only he could make the three wishes and be done with it. He had no desire to have a constant reminder of his betrayal around.

* * *

It had been two months, two very long months for Darius. He devoted himself more to working with his father, it was the only thing that helped take him mind off everything that had happened in the past few months. His distraction with thoughts of his friend had cost him the girl he'd been courting, but a small part of him could not care. He was still mourning the loss of his friend, and she could not see that or even understand.

He had managed to make one wish, being to aide his sister who had a husband who was deathly ill. It had been an easy wish to make, for if his brother in law had passed on she and their four children would live in poverty. His only fear had been the string that could very well be attached to the wish, but Cyrus seemed certain it was only wishes for selfish reasons that turned out poorly. Darius wondered how he would even know this, as he'd only been a genie for two months, but reasoned the spell to curse him also gave him all the knowledge he would need to deal with any and all masters he would have.

Still, he would return home every evening to walk into his room and see that hateful bottle sitting on a table in the corner. He still had to make two more wishes to finally be free of the burden, or at least that was what he considered it to be. Not only did he have a genie's bottle in his room which contained a friend who did not know him but there was always the constant fear Kasper would figure out who had cursed his son and would come seeking vengeance, or possibly try to free his son from the confines of his bottle.

The man had been strangely quiet after a week of raging over the news his daughters brought home. Many feared he would destroy everything in his anger, but one day there was no more heard from him. It was a curiosity but none questioned it. They felt it best to leave their good fortune as it was; to question it might bring more ruin.

He picked up the bottle and went outside, not exactly sure why he was taking it with him but felt compelled to do so. Just as he sat down upon the ground he saw Aara and Adileh walking towards him, or more to the point Adileh was walking and Aara was running ahead of her.

"What brings you here this fine afternoon?" he called out, standing to greet them. The strange look in their faces worried him a touch, but he did not fear them. After what had happened they did not bother with the people in and around the village anymore, or as little as was possible.

Adileh pulled a strange looking dagger out of a satchel she had over her shoulder. He looked at it curiously, noting the blade seemed twisted and he mused it didn't seem to be of much use. He did wonder why they were showing it to him, it seemed rather odd to come calling to just show off a strangely shaped blade.

"We could not allow the fate that befell our brother to go unpunished," Adileh told him, her voice void of any emotions. "And so, the offending party has paid for all his crimes, the worst being what has become of Cyrus."

Darius felt his heart skip a beat, trying to remember the last time he'd seen Shah. He was the one who had performed the spell, how the two girls had discovered he was the one who had done it was beyond him, but it sickened him they would kill an old man for doing what he thought was the right thing to do for all concerned, Cyrus included. "What have you done?" he asked in a voice dripping with worry.

Aara opened her mouth to speak but Adileh beat her to it. "Our father always told us magic was power, and the magic we had was the ultimate power. Like foolish children we believed his words, whilst Cyrus listened to our mother as she cautioned us against it. That sort of power can blind those too weak willed to notice, and sadly Cyrus is the one who will pay for all eternity for our crimes. He had the inner strength to resist the lure of dark magic, which we did not. We've found a way to avenge him, by taking all that dark magic from our father, thereby ending his life in the process. That was almost two month ago, we've spent all this time binding the magic into this dagger and making sure it was diluted like our books said it would be, as it was the type that defied all the laws of magic that are known. Now we need to be rid of this dagger, before someone discovers it and decides to use it for their own purpose."

Darius could not form words after what they told him, it was a lot to take in. He was surprised he felt very little sorrow over the death of their father, or any shock that they had killed him. Wasn't this what everyone had wanted to achieve through their actions that night? If it wasn't, it was the result they received.

Aara nodded towards the bottle her brother was in. "We need to you to wish this dagger far away from here, as far as possible. Somewhere that it can do no harm to anyone close at hand. Our father caused enough heartache and pain, we do not want to see anyone use this for their own advantage and begin the cycle again here."

Darius was going to argue that if it was found in a different place the cycle very well could start again, but at least this time it wouldn't be as powerful. With the laws of magic put into the dark magic in the dagger, at least it would impede whoever came into possession of it. He nodded in agreement with them though, to get rid of that dagger would be an excellent second wish and it almost felt right it would be Cyrus that would be the one sending it off.

He reached down and grabbed the bottle, quickly releasing Cyrus. Darius noticed the pained expressions that flitted across both the girl's faces as their brother appeared, and did not look at them. His attention was on only one person; his master.

"Master mine, my will is thine," he said, much to Darius' continued discomfort. He wanted to ask him to stop but knew his father would not be impressed by that.

The other part was the fact he always wanted to call him by his name, another habit he had to break himself of and fast. It bothered him his father was making sure that he did not treat his friend as a person, he was to treat him like a servant, a bit of property. To call him by his name, even though Cyrus had given it to him, was to make him seem human. And that was one thing he no longer was. "Genie, I need you to do something for me," he said, to which Cyrus smiled.

He always smiled when Darius wanted him to do something, he'd noticed humans did that when they were happy and so he thought this was a point he should smile. His purpose was to be of service to his master, so he reasoned that should make him happy and thereby he should smile. It always bothered him when he was summoned only to have his master look at him with strange emotions he could not figure out. It bothered him more when an older man, Obediah, was around, as he was rather cruel. He normally spoke harshly with his master, who he had learned was named Darius, but he had a tendency to be rather cruel towards him. He wouldn't soon forget the man burning him with silver, or the satisfied smirk that had crossed his aged face.

Darius nodded towards the two women in his company, whom Cyrus recognized. He was curious who they were to Darius but it wasn't his place to question anything. He did wonder why the one had cried so much the first time he'd ever laid eyes on them, or why the other had asked what had been done to him. Other than the silver incident, not much that he could think of. And even then, it wasn't his place to complain. He didn't know why the older man was so harsh and cruel to him, he simply had to endure it.

"I need this dagger to be sent as far away from here as possible, can your magic do that?" Darius inquired, his tone serious and he detected a hopeful look in both the women's eyes.

Cyrus looked at the dagger for a moment, refusing to touch it on the chance the blade was silver. He wasn't certain what exactly was made of silver and what wasn't, but didn't feel like chancing it. He could feel powerful magic radiating off it. "That dagger is laden with a very dark magic," he commented, snapping his mouth shut quickly afterwards. He wasn't supposed to have any opinion, just do as he was told.

"It is," the one woman, who he could remember being called Aara, told him. She smiled warmly and reached out to lightly touch his arm. He looked at her curiously, wondering what she was doing. And as much as he wanted to deny it, he rather liked the way she was acting. It felt comforting, and familiar.

"Genie, this dagger is very dangerous and we need it to be sent very, very far from here so it can hurt no one else," Darius told him, and he could detect sadness in all their eyes. Obviously the dagger and all the magic in it had cost them someone very dear to them.

"I can, all you have to do is wish it," he answered, waiting for the wish to be made.

"I wish for this dagger to be sent to a place or realm far from here, where it can harm us no more," Darius wished, as the girls watched their brother curiously.

"As you wish, master mine," Cyrus said as a golden glow formed between his hands. Just as it appeared, a few seconds later it was gone and so was the dagger.

Darius sighed with relief, he knew genies could perform great feats of magic, but he had worried a dagger filled with magic could be a problem. Cyrus' warning that every wish had a string attached did cause him some worry, making him hope that the dagger and the magic it contained wouldn't be the ruin of another family.

He watched as Aara made to move towards Cyrus, but Adileh stopped her. He instructed Cyrus to return to his bottle, which he did after a few seconds. It seemed he was rather reluctant to do so, which was a little strange as normally he was more than happy to do as he was told. Before he vanished he'd been gazing at Aara curiously, almost as if he knew her from somewhere.

"Aara, you can't do those things," Adileh admonished after their brother vanished from sight.

"Why?" she asked, her voice confused.

"He's a genie now, he doesn't know us and you cannot be giving him any notions of love and friendship. It will only cause him hardship in the end if he starts to form attachments to any of his future masters," the older of the two sisters explained.

Aara looked hurt, which Darius didn't like to see. Adileh was the logical thinking older sister, whilst Aara was a little more emotional and went with what her heart told her to do. She had wanted to comfort her brother when he thought he'd done something wrong, she didn't see the issue with it. "Aara, as much as it pains me to agree with Adileh, she's correct. He won't always be found by good people. I do not like it anymore than you do, but he sadly will be used by many horrid people and I can only hope more often than not he finds his way to good masters who will at least not treat him poorly. If he even starts to form emotional attachments to anyone who finds him it will just hurt him, as they are all going to leave him in the end. He isn't a person anymore, sadly, he's a possession."

Aara looked down at the ground, kicking at it with her one foot. She didn't like this, at all. So far as she was concerned her brother should be shown every kindness while they had him around. He had no idea he had once been mortal, so what difference did it make if they treated him like he was one, just for awhile?

"Come Aara, we should head home," Adileh instructed, tugging at her arm in a bid to get her to follow.

Aara pulled away, stating she wanted to stay and visit with Darius for awhile. The older of the two sisters looked at her strangely, and then shook her head with a bit of a smile. "Fine, but be sure you are home before night fall as you know mother worries herself sick these days."

They watched as Adileh headed for home, and when she was out of sight Aara turned around and did something Darius had not been expecting. She had never been a predictable girl, and considering the two had always been very powerful with magic and used to simply taking what they wanted when they desired it, he had not been prepared when she leaned over and kissed him.

As she pulled away he looked at her curiously, he couldn't help but wonder if this was a trick. "Stop looking at me that way, this is not a way to get to Cyrus. You know as well as anyone else I like you, I've always liked you. You were a good friend to our brother during his mortal life, and I can tell you are trying to be a good master to him now."

"That is all well and good, but it is possible that I do not share the same attraction to you," Darius argued, still a little shocked at what had just transpired.

"Deny it all you like, but Cyrus told me many times that you liked me as well. It does not matter I am two years older, unless it gives you pause for concern. And if that is a problem for you, then I pity you. We both know more than most that life is precious and what we love may be taken from us in a moment's notice. Tell me you do not like me at all, and I'll leave now and not mention this again," she instructed, smiling playfully.

Darius was going to argue and say he did not love her, but he knew she would be able to tell he was lying. Even Cyrus could tell when he'd insisted time and again that he did not like Aara. He'd tried to push the feelings aside by courting other girls, but he'd always wanted it to be her, knowing it never would be. It was strange how such a tragic event could sometimes bring a bit of happiness into one's life.

He leaned over and kissed her, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she kissed him back. For the first time in two months he forgot all his worries and his pain, he just lost himself in that moment.

When they broke the kiss she leaned her head on his shoulder, playing with his hair. "I do love you, but I want you to know one thing," she softly whispered, causing him to look down at her curiously. "Adileh has not figured it out, nor will she, but I know who cursed Cyrus. I am well aware you were there when it happened, but I do not blame you. I was angry when I first realized it, but after all the time it took to contain our father's dark magic I realized all of this was, sadly, for the best. Cyrus always had more power than he even could comprehend. Given time, he would have been more powerful than our father."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"I did not want a relationship to start with a lie, or for you to doubt my love later if this knowledge were to come to light. I love you Darius, very much, but I felt you should know I am well aware of your little secret. With this revelation, do you still love me?" she questioned, worry ghosting in her eyes.

He inclined his head towards where her's rested on his shoulder, lightly pressing his lips to her forehead. "What do you think?"

* * *

Before they could marry, there was the question of the genie's bottle. Their relationship had surprised many, except Adileh. They courted for what they felt would be considered the proper and decent length of time before he proposed, and the wedding preparations brought their mother out of her sorrow and depression. She longed for the distraction, to take her mind off what had become of her youngest child. The sisters had never told her where his bottle was, and she had never asked. Darius had wondered about this and had thought about showing it to her, but Aara had informed him it would only bring more heartache.

That was something he could understand, as he stood outside at sunset with Aara only a few days before their wedding. They knew there was one thing they had to do before they could enter into their marriage: say good bye to the past. In a way, it felt as though they were putting Cyrus' memory to rest as he was no longer the person they'd known and loved.

Aara was the one who suggested it, saying it was time for the third wish to be made so Cyrus could move on, just as they needed to. She didn't express the fact she wanted her brother as far away from Obediah as possible, as she felt he was rather cruel to him. He didn't do much, but she couldn't help but notice how careless he was with that bottle and was pretty sure he'd actually been the one more vocal in what happened than anyone else in the plot when they'd first begun to formulate it and brought Darius in.

She was thankful Darius finally did tell her what had happened, even though she could tell it hurt him to remember. He seemed a bit reluctant to give up his friend, but she told him exactly why Cyrus had stayed away so long after that near death accident, which in the end had been near death for them both. She hoped that would impress upon him why this needed to be done. After that little revelation her future husband agreed it would be for the best to make that last wish and say good bye, even if it both pained them to do so.

"It is going to be hard to see him leave," Darius said, looking at the bottle in his hands.

Aara nodded, she was loathed to send him off for someone new to find, thus starting a never ending cycle of loneliness for him. She had toyed with the idea of keeping him with them, but that wasn't possible. They would one day pass on, and even if they had children there was a chance of a child being cruel and using the wishes for selfish reasons. There was also the chance that having a genie in their possession would eventually bring unspeakable strife to their decedents; genies were highly sought after and many greedy men would go to great lengths to obtain one.

There was also the darkness locked away in this particular genie, but they both hoped as time moved forward that piece of information would be forgotten and lost to memory.

They also knew Cyrus could do good for some out there with the wishes he would grant them, so long as the right people found him. And Aara also assured herself one day he'd find some form of happiness. The few times he'd been released she'd noted a bit of his old fire in those eyes; his memories may be gone, but there was some of his personality still inside him and with the right people he could start to be more of a person than a wish granting entity once again.

"We have to do this and we have to do this now. Please, just summon him," she pleaded, if they were going to start a life together it was time to let go of the past.

Darius did as she requested and in a few second Cyrus was standing before them speaking the familiar words he always said. After a few moments, he ventured to look up to see if anyone was intending to talk to him or if this was another one of the strange instances where he'd just stand there with his master gazing at him with a strange look he could never decipher.

Finally, his master began to speak and made his final wish. It was something inconsequence and he thought it strange it took him so long to wish for a pastry for the woman he was courting, but of course it was not his place to question any of it.

Once Aara was holding her favourite pastry, the one Cyrus used to get for her whenever she was upset about something; she glanced up to look at him once more before he vanished. She smiled at him as an orange mist swirled around him and he disappeared back into his bottle, which then vanished from their sight.

"Good bye, my dear brother, and good luck," she whispered.

* * *

Belle closed the book, glancing at both Alice and Rumpel. It certainly wasn't quite the tale she was thinking would be contained in the book. She had expected to find out he'd been a horrid person at one time, and that was the reason he was trapped in that bottle. It wouldn't have made her like him any less, but she was rather surprised to read that he really had never considered using the magic he was born with for his own reasons, or to ruin lives like his father and siblings.

It also struck her as almost ironic that Rumpel had gone from disliking Cyrus to having a rather paternal overtone with him. The dagger described in the book was more than obviously the one that gave power to the Dark One. She had only seen it once, a long time ago in the Enchanted Forest, but she remembered the look of it well, and the description in the book matched up with what she could pull up in her memory.

"Well, it would appear I was right on one thing," Rumpel finally said, breaking the silence.

Alice quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "And what would that be?"

"I said reading that wasn't going to change our opinion of him, regardless of what it revealed. It would appear to me that he had the potential to be an absolutely wicked person but it was snuffed out before it had a chance to develop. It actually amazes me they didn't kill him," he mused, glancing at the flickering candles and once more wondering why exactly they'd decided to light candles when there were lamps on both the end tables of the chesterfield. He was fairly certain he'd changed the light bulbs in them recently, so they should have worked.

"It doesn't seem like some of them were overly kind regardless," Belle observed, thinking back to that man, Obediah, who seemed to find some strange enjoyment in the fact his son had become his friend's master.

"Well dearie, there is good in everyone and darkness in all. I can't say I agree with forcing your child into being the master of his friend, but what is done is done. It would seem though; out of all tragedy love can blossom. It did for his now long departed sister and friend, and he's found love himself. In a strange way, maybe it worked out for all concerned," Rumpel stated as Alice wrinkled her nose.

Belle asked her what was wrong, and Alice shook her head, a bit of a grin playing on her lips. "I just realized we all had awful fathers. To different degrees, but we all seemed to have a lot of dumb luck there," she mused.

Rumpel nodded, he'd only glossed over his family relations with Belle and Alice, he never thought about his father as the betrayal was far too much for him to bear even after all this time. He envied Cyrus in that case, even if he read the account in that book he'd never develop the same sort of heartache, as for him it would just be words on a page, he'd never remember living any of it.

"It seems to me there is only one decent father in any of our stories," Belle commented, glancing over to Rumpel who started to protest. "Don't argue with me, that curse you created and how you played Regina might be a little on the extreme side, but you did all of it to find Bae."

"That I did dearie, but I wouldn't call me a good father," he argued.

"You can say you're not a good father, but to me you are," Alice blurted out, looking over at him. "You regretted breaking a promise to your son, you were willing to move heaven and earth to find him and never gave up on him. If Will hadn't wished some sense into him, I know you would have kept trying and had never stopped believing he could come around, and he would have. You welcomed me with open arms, and you took in Cyrus and treated him like a person when you could have told him to go back into his bottle and left him there. You, Rumpelstiltskin, are a good person and father whether you believe it or not."

He laughed slightly, wondering why it always seemed to be early mornings that brought out such strange confessions from people. "I'll just have to take your word for that. Now, I think we should all do as I'm sure Cyrus is doing in there and get some sleep. Your friend Will is coming over in the afternoon and we have to decide who is going to summon Cyrus back and become his new master. That is a decision I would prefer not to make without a few more hours of sleep."

They all nodded in agreement. Belle blew out the candles and left for her room. As Alice left for her's she felt Rumpel place a hand on her shoulder. He was holding Cyrus' bottle and offering it to her. "Here dearie, I trust you won't summon him back and I have a feeling you can't as you were his last mistress. All magic has rules, but keep him and his bottle with you, as I have a feeling it would help you sleep better."

She took the familiar bottle from his hands, careful not to shake it about too much. "Thank you," she said, to which he simply nodded.

Alice watched as he went back to his room, wondering why anyone would consider him evil. They'd all seen what true evil was, and thankfully they would never have to meet it again.

_AN: I toyed with using the back story I wrote for Cyrus, well over a month ago but fancied I might as well. It fits in with the alternate universe I've created in this story and gives an origin to the dagger that gives the Dark One power as well._

_As to why I chose for him to originate from Persia - I actually looked up the name (I like to know name means and origins, it is rather interesting) as the choice seemed curious to me. I imagine the character was given the name long before a certain infamous incident involving a celebrity. Anyway, I discovered it was a Persian name that seems to have been favoured with royalty, and it means 'sun, throne' and figured I would just have him originate from there instead of going with Agrabah._

_Thank you ever so much for the reviews on this, I really appreciate them. One thing I have a feeling I failed to address is the story arc with Cora does not exist in this story universe I've built up throughout this. In all truth, the reason Hook made it into the story is I didn't want Alice and Will to arrive too quickly in Storybrooke and fancied Jafar needed some allies to double cross. Without Cora, Hook has no real ties I can think of to Storybrooke, other than Rumpel and I just can't see them down at the pub talking over a pint. In all truth, if he does have ties to anyone in the town without Cora in the picture I can't recall. I'm really much more enthralled and invested in the spin off, I enjoy the original but it doesn't capture me as much as Wonderland does. So sad it is only to be 13 episodes, I wish by some miracle it would turn into more._

_I'll stop rambling now, I hope this chapter wasn't too dull on back story, it sort of ran away on me. The next chapter is the last one, but I do have two more stories I'm plotting out after this. :)_


	13. A Place to Belong

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for a bit of fun._

The morning light was what woke Alice after the little storytelling and chat by candlelight. She'd almost forgotten about that, fancying it a dream, until she saw Cyrus' bottle sat on the bedside table with the rays of morning light gleaming off the polished exterior. Everything at that moment felt like a dream; Jafar was gone and they were finally able to breathe.

A slight sigh escaped her lips, she longed to grab it and release him once more, but knew she couldn't. He explained to her once if she used all three of her wishes he would be gone. She'd laughed and said all she had to do was retrieve the bottle and summon him again but he then informed her he could not belong to the same person twice. That had sobered her up and fast.

She still hated the way he'd worded it, he didn't belong to her. But then, her father treated her a bit like a possession as well. A possession to be neglected and treated as if it didn't matter, unlike Cyrus who was most likely coveted and hidden away. But at the same time, to be neglected or coveted wasn't really something to desire. To be loved, that was something to want.

If they were going to talk about belonging, she fancied they belonged to each other equally, no one held anyone's will despite what he thought.

Slowly she sat up, glancing around the room she was in. She'd actually forgotten she'd slipped into his bedroom and gone to sleep. The room Rumpel had promised her was still a bit cluttered, and that was one thing she wasn't overly fond of, so she'd decided to sleep in Cyrus' room just for that night.

Belle had decided to decorate the room a touch, nothing grand, on the dresser sat a framed drawing she'd made and a vase with some flowers she'd bought in anticipation of his return. She'd even bought him a little stuffed toy of some type of dog, as it seemed Cyrus had taken a liking to Archie's dog, Pongo. Alice laughed a bit at the idea of him playing with a dog, but rather liked it.

She got out of bed, finding a robe and then picked up the bottle, taking care not to jostle it too much. She wondered at times what exactly he did in there with all his time between masters. When she'd wandered in it had been completely dark, giving her the impression it was simply an abandoned bottle under the hedge.

In truth he'd almost given her heart failure when he'd spoken, she knew there were odd things to be found and discovered in Wonderland but someone living on a bottle was rather new. Of course in her storybooks back in England she'd read about genies but it never occurred to her that was what she'd stumbled upon. She fancied she'd found one of the many hazards of the land she was in, that was until he'd introduced himself and smiled, then she suddenly realized maybe she'd found a friend, at long last.

She'd learned a few moments later she hadn't actually found a friend, per say, but someone to grant her every wish and heart's desire, within reason. Although she had a feeling by the way he was looking at her and the way he spoke he was hoping for something more. She could feel his longing for someone to see him as something more, for someone to actually love him, which made it impossible for her to not grow attached to him. In the long run, that was all she wanted as well and if he was as starved for affection as she was then in her eyes it was fate that threw them together.

A light rap at the bedroom door drew her out of her musings. She walked over and opened it to find Belle on the other side. "Morning Alice, I thought I might find you in here," she said as Alice ushered her in.

Belle walked in, and quickly noticing the genie's bottle clutched in Alice's slender hands. When she hadn't found it in the cabinet she's been worried, until she recalled there was no one in Storybrooke that would come looking for it. Not to mention no one in the right mind would cross Rumpel if they could help it. She thought it might be with Alice.

"So, once Will comes over this afternoon we're going to sit down and figure out what to do next," she stated, to which Alice nodded. It felt so strange to think they had to decide who was going to summon Cyrus again, and they actually had to discuss it.

Belle grinned at her warmly, putting an arm around her shoulder in a slight hug. "You'll see him again soon, it is only a few more hours and I bet he needs some sleep anyway. We've all been through a lot these last few days, it is kind of surreal to think it is all said and done."

"Well, other than what to do with Cyrus," Alice mentioned.

Belle nodded. "There is that. Don't worry about it, I'm sure the spell worked fine and when he appears again he'll still remember you and all the rest of us."

"I hope you're right, but I cannot help but worry who is inside this bottle is going to turn out to be the exact person he was in that book when his friend summoned him the first time. I don't think I could bear it if he looked at me with no recollection of who I was to him at one point," Alice confessed, trying to keep the sadness from showing on her face.

Belle smiled reassuringly at her, empathizing with her worries. When she'd read the account in the book she too felt a pang of worry, as she'd grown to love Cyrus as a part of her family. The idea of him reverting back to simply thinking he was nothing more than a wish granting entity was hard to swallow and a little discouraging. But something had to be done about that dark magic, Belle didn't like the idea of what could have happened if he had given into any of the darker urges he seemed to have kept buried for so long. Regina and Rumpel had to cast that spell to lock the dark magic away inside him again, where he couldn't get to it, and if he lost his memories in the process then she supposed they'd have to teach him once more what it was to be more than just a servant to men.

* * *

Will was late, he'd told them he'd arrive around one in the afternoon but the grandfather clock in the hall had just chimed three when he finally walked through the door, brushing snow off his jacket onto the floor. Rumpel glared at him and handed him a mop to clean it up with, commenting he was exceptionally late.

"Well it isn't my fault there is a bloody snowstorm going on out there. If I didn't know better something was trying to punish me, I hate snow," he grumbled, mopping up the melting snow before it could ruin the hardwood flooring, off handedly commenting Rumpel was sounding like a certain realm hopping rabbit with his last comment.

Rumpel said nothing more, just watched to make sure Will mopped up all the melting snow before he ushered him into the dining room where Belle and Alice were sitting with a cup of tea. Belle quickly offered Will some, which he was more than happy to take in an effort to warm up.

"Alright, well let's get down to business. I would have thought by now Alice would have let Cyrus back out of that bottle if you want the truth," Will commented, setting his tea cup back down after taking a long drink. "Would have saved me a long walk in the bloody cold and snow."

Alice shook her head, slightly amused that Will knew her well enough to assume she'd have already gone ahead and summoned him. "I can't, Cyrus told me he can never belong to the same person twice, I suppose to keep greedy people from hoarding a genie for their own gain."

"Well, I still say all these rules are absolutely daft, but at least that one has a good reason," Will agreed, he couldn't argue with that one. It was better than most of the rest of them that he'd already seen Cyrus either break or attempt to break.

"So that brings us to who is going to summon him. Whoever it is needs to be prepared for the fact he may not know any of us. I don't know how that spell will have affected his memories, it was the spell used to tether him to that bottle all those years ago, there is no way to know how it would affect him as he already is a genie," Rumpel explained as they all started to discuss the topic at hand.

Will refused the idea of it being him, with no resistance at all. He was almost insulted but when it was reasoned he'd likely use his three wishes as thoughtlessly as his other one, he couldn't argue. Although he was good enough to point out it worked in Rumpel's favour, even if Neal still seemed to be working through his thoughts and emotions when it came to his father.

Although Belle was a good choice, she wasn't comfortable with the thought of owning the will of someone else. Alice explained it wasn't really as horrid as it sounded, but still she was reluctant. She simply did not like the idea of being his mistress and was against it unless there was no other choice.

That left only one option: Rumpel. Alice had been the one to suggest it, as it was unlikely he would use any of the wishes Cyrus would bestow upon him, and he was immortal as well so as long as he lived the genie would technically be free of his bottle. The main objection Rumpel had was he wasn't overly keen on becoming Cyrus' master when he now knew what was locked away inside the genie. That kind of dark magic was tempting, and a part of him was tempted to try to use the undiluted version of the power he possessed.

Something inside him reasoned he was smarter than Jafar, he could somehow unleash it and keep it from tearing the genie apart in the process. It was tempting, so very tempting and he wasn't sure if he could resist it no matter how certain Belle was he could. He appreciated her stead fast faith in him, but he knew temptation was hard not to bow to.

There was also the chance that Cyrus would have absolutely no memories of them, that he could appear and be just as he was after he first became a genie. It caused Alice some distress, she couldn't stand the thought of him forgetting her, she'd been left behind by her father, this would slowly kill her. But to Rumpel, a darker urge in him knew that it would be easier to control that dark power if Cyrus had no memory of having any sort of life outside of the one he was cursed into; he would obediently bow to whatever his master wanted without question. Could he actually resist the urge, should that be what is discovered when he is summoned?

Every time the worry about possible memory loss was brought up, it was Belle who cheerily reminded them that they would just have to spend time with him to help bring him back to the person they all knew. Will only nodded, not wanting to point out that aside from Rumpel, none of them were going to live long enough to pull that off. He was pretty sure it would take a lot longer than a day or two to get back the person they knew, and even then there was no guarantee he'd be the same.

And so they continued their discussion, all eyeing the bottle sitting on the table warily. Now that they knew exactly why Jafar had gone to such lengths to obtain that genie in particular it changed things slightly. They worried if the spell had taken hold the way it had the first time they might have to deal with memory loss, but if it hadn't worked, they didn't know what they'd be dealing with and that thought frightened each of them to varying degrees.

Will sat there sipping his tea, listening to them all talk. He still felt rather insulted they had taken him off the short list for this responsibility before he'd even made it on but at least he didn't have to contribute to the conversation anymore.

* * *

Cyrus slowly awoke, a little disoriented by the darkness that surrounded him. He really had no desire to continue into the conscious world, he was tired and would prefer to stay asleep. He didn't want to wake up and remember everything that had transpired in recent days; that was something he longed to forget.

He sat up and reached blindly for one of the lanterns to shed some light on his little space. He hated being in the dark, and he wondered if it was some hold over from when he'd been mortal. It was one thing that always struck him as odd, he had a strange and almost intense fear of being left in the dark for long, which was a problem as he often found himself without much light. The lanterns were helpful, but he longed for daylight, yet he knew that was a rare pleasure.

He wanted out, he wanted to see the sky, the snow and see the people he cared about again. He was fully aware that he might not get any of that, for all he knew they could have sent his bottle far from the little town, feeling he was too dangerous to have around after what he'd almost done to Jafar. He had attempted to kill the man after all, in a blind fit of anger. If Will hadn't stopped him, in a rather painful way, he'd had every intention of killing the sorcerer. He wanted the man to suffer, and he'd actually thrilled slightly to the idea of seeing the life slowly fade out of Jafar's cold eyes.

Slowly his hand reached up to touch the burns Will had left on his skin, rather grateful Alice had obviously told him about the one thing that could hurt him. He didn't truly regret what he'd done to the sorcerer, but he knew he'd have regretted killing him, even if he wanted him dead. Jafar was the one exception to his desire to see no harm come to any mortals, no matter how awful they were to him personally. Jafar though, he was unredeemable. He had no remorse, and whatever horrid things were to befall him he would more than deserve. But he was glad that the death of the sorcerer had not come by his hand.

For a moment he pondered what he'd heard Alice say once or twice, why couldn't life ever be easy? But then again, he had to remind himself that technically, his life was pretty straight forward. Someone summons him, he grants their wishes and the cycle repeats itself. That was until Alice, and how he longed to get out of his bottle and see her, that is if she was close by.

He could hear muffled voices, but could not discern what was being said and they were distorted enough he couldn't recognize them. With a sigh he sank down into some pillows and waited, hoping it wouldn't be too long before he'd find out where he was this time.

* * *

Belle nearly jumped a foot in the air when the front door to the house swung open, bringing with it a gust of wind, snow and a bundled up Neal. The man looked like he'd walked a few miles in the snow, but in reality it likely had been from his car to the door.

A clatter was heard as the wind knocked the bottle over on the table, much to the annoyance of Alice. She wanted to right it, but they'd all agreed none of them would touch it until they came to a decision, which was taking far too long for her. Of course she couldn't summon him again, but she'd agreed not to touch it and she'd stick to that agreement.

The entire conversation was running in circles. It was more than obvious Rumpel was the one who should summon Cyrus back, despite his own reservations. She knew deep down he had a good heart, and she had a feeling he'd developed a fondness for the genie, in a fatherly way. A part of her wondered if it was because there was possibly a bit of Cyrus' father in him, since he was the one who possessed that dagger.

"Bae, what are you doing here?" Rumpel asked, standing from his chair and walking over to him to take his jacket.

"What, I can't just come to see you? I know the last time we talked I was under the influence of a rather hastily made wish, but I have had time to really think and I can't say I forgive everything you did, or will I forgive you for going back on our deal in the Enchanted Forest, but you are my father and no matter how misguided I think your actions were I'm starting to understand you did all those things for my own well being," he explained, pulling off his boots and putting them on the tray by the door. "Despite all my anger and resentment over everything that happened, I still love you and I think it is time we started to mend our relationship and move forward."

Rumpel grinned, he had waited so long to hear those words from his son, and after that meeting in the city he feared he'd never hear them. Not only because he'd been poisoned, but he was certain all he had done was so unforgivable Bae would never be able to see the loving father he was past the monster he had become under the influence of the power in that dagger.

"Thank you Bae, I don't think there are words to truly express how happy you've made me just by saying that," Rumpel said, embracing his son in a hug. When they broke apart, he ushered his son into the dining room to join them for a cup of tea.

Neal glanced around the table, instantly feeling the tense atmosphere and inquired about the sombre faces. "We're having a bit of a time coming to a decision," Will explained, nodding to the bottle that lay on its side in the center of the table.

Neal's eyes went wide when the implications hit him, he might have been subjected to the results of a wish made in haste, but he really hadn't given much thought to the whole genie living in a bottle thing. "You're serious? This friend I never met really is a genie, and he's in there?" he asked in amazement as he sat down.

"Considering you hail from the Enchanted Forest I would think this wouldn't be such a shocking thing," Rumpel chided, amused at how his son was looking at the bottle with a wide eyed wonder.

"Yeah, but we didn't have genies, at least not that I can remember. Did you guys notice you can see into that bottle from the bottom?" he inquired, nodding to the fact he could see just a touch of light through something that made him think of ornate grating.

"What?" Alice asked in a bit of shock as Neal picked it up and tilted it so he could try to see in. She'd completely forgotten what it looked like from the inside after all this time, and was kicking herself mentally. If she'd remembered that she could have peeked in to see if he was alright instead of making herself slightly crazy with worry.

Right when he thought his bottle being knocked over, pitching him about for a few moments wasn't bad enough; now someone had grabbed it and was tilting it at an odd angle. He tried grabbing at anything to stop from sliding down to the bottom of the bottle but with no avail. He glanced over to see out, and yelped in absolute shock.

Cyrus redoubled his effort to find some way to get away from the grating at the bottom of the bottle. Most people never thought to try to see inside, other than a few children in the distant past. He hadn't appreciated that either, as then they'd decided to poke little bits of straw or whatever they had handy through the grating, his only source of light and fresh air. And, of course, his masters at any of these times never admonished their children for what they had done. How he hated being considered a possession, as they saw him as having no feelings worth being considered.

He didn't know the person looking in, not that he could see much of them, but the way they were looking at him with a mixture of curiousity and awe it gave him the sinking suspicion he had been found by a complete stranger, meaning he'd been sent away. That upset him more than he cared to admit, but he knew he had to bury those feelings as whoever this person was, they would be expecting an obedient servant, not a genie with human emotions.

Neal smiled brightly as he watched Cyrus trying to move away, he actually tilted the bottle slightly to give him a chance to find purchase on higher ground. He felt bad for scaring him, but he couldn't help himself. He never had seen a genie before, and it was even more interesting to see one actually inside their bottle. Although he could happily just try to take in everything he was seeing inside, he began to notice a strange look of sorrow coming over the genie's face, giving him the impression he thought he had been given away to someone new and his friends were now lost to him. To relieve his upset, Neal finally spoke, although it was directed to the others in the room and not the person in the bottle. "So, this is Cyrus."

That caught the genie's attention, giving him slight hope he was still with his friends. The next voice, who was admonishing the person holding his bottle, he knew to be Rumpelstiltskin. "Bae, put it down. You're going to scare him half to death."

"I didn't think genie's could die of heart attacks," Bae laughed, much to Cyrus' annoyance. He'd been through more than enough in the past few days, he really wasn't in the mood to be knocked around as well. He knew it wasn't going to do anything, but in his frustration he grabbed a cushion nearby and threw it angrily at the grating at the bottom of his bottle. He would have preferred to shout at the man he now realized was Rumpel's son but knew no one would hear him at his current size. "Guys, you really should let him out, he's getting rather angry."

"I doubt you knocking him about is helping his mood any," Will quipped, shaking his head. They better hope all that dark magic was unattainable to Cyrus after this. He'd be pretty darn ticked off too if he was in there getting tossed about.

The bottle was jostled again and Cyrus was fairly certain he was going to slap all of them when he finally got out. They knew he was in there, the least they could do was not knock him around like he was some kind of rag doll. This was getting ridiculous, it was bad enough when the person who found the bottle didn't realize what they had, but these people knew he was in there.

Finally, he began to feel that pull when someone uncorked his bottle and a few seconds later he appeared in the company of the people he knew as his friends. He was kind of loathed to do it, but knew the rules. He clasped his hands before him and bowed his head, before uttering the phrase he'd recited countless times over the centuries.

"Master mine, my will is thine," he said, all the while glaring darkly at Neal who was still looking at him with a mixture of awe and disbelief on his face.

Will whistled when he noticed the anger burning in the genie's eyes. "You better hope he can't use any of that dark magic Neal! I think you've managed to get on his bad side."

Cyrus scanned the room quickly to discover who had the bottle. He desired to get this part out of the way, because frankly he wanted to have a little chat with Neal, Bae, whatever his name was over etiquette. He really didn't care the man was curious about what he was holding, that was rather rude to keep staring in like he had. Much to his surprise he found Rumpel holding the bottle in his one hand, a smile on his face.

He moved his hand slightly, and in a soft golden glow materialized three jewel like wishes in Rumpel's hand. "Master mine, my will is thine. Tell me your wishes three," he recited, smiling as he knew the man hated when he repeated those words.

"Now don't you start that," Rumpel commented. "And you know full well I won't be using these wishes."

Cyrus nodded, he had figured that. He knew now what the muffled talk was about, they were trying to decide who would be best to become his new master. Although part of him was slightly wary of the dark history Rumpel had, he knew the man would never use him in any way as Jafar. It actually made sense, the man was immortal as well, and this was the closest to freedom Cyrus would ever have.

Before he could say anything else Alice wrapped her arms around him and held him as close as she could. "It's over, all of it, it's finally over," she told him, smiling at him before she pulled him down into a kiss.

Alice could hardly believe they were finally safe and free of the looming threat of Jafar, it was all surreal to her. But she pushed the thought from her mind as she lost herself in the moment and put all of her emotions into that kiss she had wanted last night before everything had spiraled out of control. They were both completely lost in the moment with each other, oblivious to everyone else in the room, all that mattered was each other.

"Oye, get a bloody room!" Will blurted out, bringing them both back to reality and the fact they were in a room full of people.

Alice blushed while Cyrus ducked his head and grinned shyly, but no one failed to miss the confusion on their faces at Will's comment. "You realize they have no idea what that comment implies," Neal pointed out.

Will laughed, oh he knew full well they had no clue. That was what he loved about them; they were both completely clueless about the world they were now in. It was going to be a great deal of fun, until they started to figure things out that was. He had a feeling Alice would get used to everything quicker than Cyrus though, he seemed to be a bit more of the temperament of Belle and would prefer things simpler, like reading a book, rather than convenient, that being just watching the movie adaptation of said book on the telly.

* * *

"So, he proposed to you?" Mary Margaret asked as she sat down in the diner with Belle, Alice and Ashley along with baby Alexandra.

Alice nodded, slightly frustrated with the wailing baby. At first Ashley had planned to leave her with a babysitter, but Mary Margaret had asked for her to bring the baby along. Belle didn't seem to mind too much, but Alice would have preferred not to have the baby there. She liked babies, but not when they were screaming.

Belle grinned, pulling out some books with wedding planning ideas in it. "Well now that you're in Storybrooke and not Wonderland you have to have a proper wedding, with everyone around. This is going to be fun!"

Ashley didn't say too much, she was still hoping for a nice quiet wedding to Sean but could wait it out a little longer. Besides, too many weddings at once could be overkill and she didn't want to take anything away from Alice and Cyrus after all they'd been through. They deserved their moment to shine, she'd waited twenty eight years, she could wait a little longer. Of course, they were married in the Enchanted Forest, but they'd talked about having another wedding in Storybrooke, they were never sure why but it felt proper as they were living completely different lives.

Ruby walked over to glance at the books full of dresses and decorations, asking if Alice had given much thought to a wedding at all. "Not really, after his proposal the Red Queen attacked and I thought he'd died in the Boiling Sea. Even after returning to Wonderland to rescue him from Jafar I never thought about getting married, I just wanted to find him and get us both somewhere safe. This is the first time I've given it any thought at all," she confessed.

"Well there are loads of pretty dresses in here, and I'm sure Rumpel will do just about anything you want for this wedding, since he sees you as a daughter," Belle told her as they began to flip through the pages.

Ashley excused herself, citing she likely should get Alexandra home as she was being fussier than usual. They all bid her good bye, and Alice noted a certain look in Mary Margaret's eyes. She'd seen it before; some of her female relatives had gotten that way at certain points in their lives.

"You already have a daughter," Belle jumped in, beating Alice to the punch.

Mary Margaret snapped back to reality at the sound of Belle's voice, glancing at her questioningly for a moment. It seemed to take her a moment or two to process what was said, but when she did she just grabbed one of the bridal books and shrugged her shoulders. "I know, but I didn't get to raise her and I would like to have another one," she answered, then directed her attention to Alice. "Don't you want to have children with Cyrus?"

"No," Alice flat out said, earning herself a funny look from Ruby and a rather shocked one from Mary Margaret. She was rather surprised they hadn't put two and two together on this equation. It really wasn't hard to figure out.

"You two both realize he's a genie, right?" Belle inquired, figuring that should be self explanatory.

Ruby nodded, the realization dawning on her. "Oh geez, I guess that wouldn't work out would it? I'm so used to seeing him around I really never think of him as anything other than a regular guy."

"But children just add to a marriage," Mary Margaret insisted, a little surprised to meet someone who didn't want children. All she had thought about since the curse was broken was the possibility of another child; Emma was all grown up and really didn't seem to need a mother, she longed to have a little baby to hold in her arms and raise.

Alice shrugged her shoulder and asked Ruby if she could get a cup of tea before turning her attention back to the conversation at hand. "Maybe for some people, but I don't want children regardless of if he was a genie or not. A child did not make my father happy, all he ever saw was the reason his happiness had died and I would never want to put Cyrus through that. It is bad enough I'm going to leave him in the end as it is, but at least he has Rumpel to help him through the grief."

At that Mary Margaret nodded, she did have a valid point. She'd never given any thought to the fact she was human and he was a mythical being, it would be impossible for them to have children. She turned her attention to Belle who was engrossed in the books she had brought along with her. It was more than obvious she had ideas of her own wedding going through her mind, but was more than happy to help Alice plan for hers first. Not to mention Rumpel had not proposed as of yet, but she was hoping for it.

"Oh," Belle exclaimed when she realized Mary Margaret was looking at her curiously; evidently the children topic was in her court now. "Well, Bae is back so really I don't see any point in having a baby. Besides, it might be difficult enough for Rumpel when I eventually pass away, and finally Bae, I don't think it would be right to put him through that with another child."

"But don't you want to have a baby?" Mary Margaret inquired as Ruby came back over with a cup of tea for Alice. She wrinkled her nose slightly at the idea of Rumpel and Belle having children, which Alice gave her a stern look for. She really hated it when people were judgemental towards others, she really did like Ruby but it wasn't right to judge others based on outward appearances.

Belle shook her head. "No, I don't need that to make my life complete. You need to understand, a family isn't always made through giving birth to children. A family can be found. Bae has come back, and although he still can't fully forgive his father for the actions he made in the Enchanted Forest he is more than willing to move forward with their relationship knowing that every moment they have is precious. Sometimes you find family left forgotten by those who should have loved them, wandering the various realms just seeking some sense of family and belonging, or condemned to a life they did nothing to deserve, silently wishing for someone to love them and treat them as an equal. I don't need to have children to have a family, I already have that with Rumpel, Bae, Alice and Cyrus"

Alice looked up from her cup of tea, smiling brightly at Belle. Outside of Cyrus, no one had ever really expressed those sort of sentiments towards her. She actually felt her eyes stinging, she had thought she'd found a family with Rumpel and Belle but didn't dare ask for fear she'd find out they didn't really want her. But now, now she knew for certain she'd finally found a place to call home and people to call hers.

Belle wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, so happy to have met the wide eyed girl. Of course like any woman, Belle always daydreamed about having a daughter but she didn't really want to have a baby. Alice fit into that little place in her heart she knew would have been filled by a child; her and Cyrus. Even Bae was becoming dear to her after only a couple days.

She never would have imagined all of this a few weeks ago when she had found that strange bottle while she was walking in the forest. When she'd first released Cyrus all she thought she'd found was a new friend, she never would have thought he'd become so dear to her, when she thought he was lost to them she'd felt as though someone had taken away her child. He really made her think of one, with his curious nature and the wonder he had for everything he saw. Just like Alice.

No, she needed no children born in her own likeness, she had all the love and family she could ever need and all it had taken was finding a genie's bottle and no wishes at all.

* * *

Neal glanced over at Cyrus who was sitting on an exam table in Dr. Whale's office. The genie was looking around at everything with a bit of trepidation; this was not a new experience he was looking forward to. He'd been adamant he was not going to see a doctor, as he'd seen the loved ones of many masters over the years go to these sorts of people and never return, and even though he was immortal he didn't want to test the theory that everyone who saw a doctor died.

Of course, that was until Rumpel insisted upon it, then Cyrus had reluctantly agreed to the request. Neal could tell his father was about to say something, but decided against it and told him to get ready to go. He'd offered to tag along, he hadn't been to a doctor lately and normally avoided them but felt he might as well come as he didn't want Cyrus to be left alone for too long in a strange atmosphere. He felt he owed him a little for knocking him around in his bottle a few days prior as well.

"So, you said you weren't coming here. What changed your mind?" he asked, smiling as Cyrus' attention snapped over to him.

"Your father may have told me I have the free will to do as I please, but he's still my master and I have an innate desire to make sure he is happy. If he wants me to see this doctor I shall if it makes him happy, despite the fact I would rather be anywhere but here. What do they do with all these strange objects?" he told him, eyeing certain things with a bit of worry.

Neal laughed a bit. "Don't worry about that stuff, you're immortal so I doubt you'll ever have to see the inside of a hospital again. Papa is just worried about all those burns you have, that's why he wanted you to come here. You know you don't always have to do as you're told, just to make other people happy. You should be able to make choices that make you happy as well."

"I know, I've been told a few times but it is hard to break old habits," he answered just as there was a rap at the door and in walked Dr. Whale with Rumpel. Neal stood and introduced himself while Cyrus just sat there looking at the doctor with a blank expression.

Whale shook Neal's hand and then turned his attention to Cyrus. "So you're the genie, the not free genie," he stated, looking over the papers on a clipboard he'd carried into the room with him.

"I have a name," Cyrus answered, feeling a touch bold after what Neal had said. And he really hated not being called by his name; he's spent centuries being called simply genie and was getting rather fond of the idea of being called by his actual name.

Whale looked up, surprised at first but then nodded. "My apologises Cyrus, I actually didn't mean to be rude. So you're here over some burns on your forearms and throat, from silver no less," he stated, setting the clipboard aside and asking Cyrus to roll up the sleeves on his sweater.

The genie was less than enthusiastic about that, those were the worst of them and every time he saw them he could still see the cruel look in Jafar's eyes as he inflicted the burns. He'd used some sort of enchantment that made it so Cyrus could not look away; Jafar had wanted to see the pain showing on his face as he'd pressed the silver against his skin.

He slowly pulled his sleeves up so Whale could examine the burns, lost in his own thoughts as Neal walked over to Rumpel. "He would have healed on his own you know," Neal stated in a soft voice.

Rumpel nodded, he knew that. But he did want to be sure there was no chance of infections, he didn't know how Cyrus' immune system worked or if he could even get sick or develop an infection from a wound. He felt it was better to be safe than sorry. He had considered using magic to heal the burns, but thought better of it as it was a dark magic and he didn't want to even come near bringing it back out of Cyrus.

"I don't understand, why are Alice and Cyrus so important?" his son inquired, genuinely confused. Neal had decided to move into the house, and had cleaned out a room for himself while helping with setting one up for Alice as well. It wasn't that he didn't like the pair from Wonderland; he actually had enjoyed their company and had found a strange comfort in the evening hours sitting around talking whilst listening to music on the radio. All of them had such fantastic tales to tell that they'd been up until well past midnight. It actually felt like a little family.

"I think you know the answer to that. Why did you come to live with Belle and I when you could have set up a home with Emma and Henry?" Rumpel countered, glancing at his son with knowing look.

"Emma is getting to know her parents and Henry has begun to finally settle in again with Regina. I don't want to break those families up, and you're my family so it seemed right to take up your offer to live with you and Belle," Neal explained, watching as Whale looked over Cyrus' wrists and then moved on to his throat.

Rumpel was watching as well, making sure no other injury was accidently afflicted on the genie. He knew Whale would never hurt someone purposely but accidents did happen. "I think you have your answer within your own Bae; they're family now. Cyrus is just as much my son as you are, even if the only thing we share is the darkness his father had once possessed. Alice has become the daughter I never was blessed to have, but I love them just as much as I love you and want to see them cared for and loved."

As they spoke, Whale smiled at Cyrus to make him a little more at ease as he looked over his throat. "How did Gold manage to drag you in here?" he asked, pulling away from examining the burns to write on the patient chart.

"He is my master, what he desires I try to do," he answered as a disapproving sound came from Rumpel.

"I've told you quite a few times since letting you out of that bottle Cyrus, you are not my servant and I am not your master. You are free to do as you please, and if you disagree with me you are free to do so. I am not going to do something horrid to you for having an opinion," he said "We're a family, this is not the type of deal you seem to think it is."

Whale snorted at that as he continued writing. "Quite the family, your daughter is marrying one of your sons."

"I don't remember asking your opinion on that, doctor. It should be fairly obvious they would be considered adopted children, and you can kindly remove your mind from the gutter. I brought Cyrus in here about those burns, not to get your unsolicited opinion on family life," Rumpel rebuked, crossing his arms over his chest and leveling the doctor with a stare.

Whale raised his hands slightly, one still clutching the clipboard. "I didn't mean any offense, but you have to admit it is a strange situation. Not that anything about this place is normal. The burns will heal, the ones on his throat will likely heal faster as they're getting air. The ones on his forearms are deeper, but I doubt he'd need a skin graph seeing as he's magical it will likely heal back to looking like normal skin before long. They would heal faster if they were not covered by sweaters and the likes," he explained as Cyrus quickly pulled the sleeves back down on his sweater to cover his forearms. It might be well and good they'd heal faster if he allowed them to breathe, but there was no way he was going to do that. The sight of them just brought back terrifying images to his mind.

It was bad enough the ones on his throat were harder to keep covered and out of sight. He blamed himself for those ones, despite everyone telling him it was not his fault. He could have heeded Will's words and relented, but instead he'd ignored him until the man had been forced to use silver to stop him. Will had apologized profusely for that as well and Cyrus had accepted the apology quickly enough, explaining that at least he'd done it for his well being, and not as a punishment.

That statement had brought forth many questions from Will, all which Cyrus was reluctant to answer but promised he would one day. When he wasn't feeling as haunted by nightmares, and he felt comfortable reliving some of those times in his past. He was glad those days were behind him for the foreseeable future, with Rumpel as his master he had the freedom to do as he pleased and the ability to decide for himself.

He still considered Rumpel his master, but never spoke the word. He had slipped up so far once or twice, but tried his best not to say the word. His need to please was harder to suppress, it was not easy to change who you are or how you act. That actually was constant amusement for Neal, he did enjoy good naturedly teasing the genie that he was the good son, giving him the leave to get into all the trouble he could ever want.

It seemed the appointment had come to an end, so Neal was handing Cyrus his jacket when Whale interrupted. "Before you go, these forms need to be filled out. I can't actually release you until these forms are completed by someone."

Rumpel took the offered clipboard and glanced over it. Cyrus walked over and looked to see what the problem was, noting the red stars put beside _surname_ and _date of birth_. He glanced over at Whale a little perplexed, he had no idea what his birth date was and his surname was part of a long forgotten past.

Rumpel, on the other hand, took the pen and began to fill the papers out as Neal watched, a grin on his face. Once he finished writing he handed the clipboard back to Whale but not before Cyrus caught a glimpse of it.

**Date of birth: **November 24 (year unknown)

**Full name: **Cyrus Gold

Whale nodded and dismissed them, amused by the confused look on Cyrus' face as he followed Rumpel and Neal out of the hospital and to Neal's car. Once they were all settled in and Neal was pulling out of the parking lot he finally asked Rumpel why he had chosen that date and surname.

Rumpel glanced up at him through the rear view mirror with a warm smile on his face. "It was a simple choice really. Belle found you on November 24, that is the day you came into our lives and since then you've become as dear to me as Bae is. Back in the Enchanted Forest we had no surnames, but here we all have one. Neal already has a chosen surname, as does Alice and Belle, although I do intend to marry Belle at some point in the future. It was just natural to give you my curse surname, making you family."

Cyrus couldn't help the bright smile that graced his face at those words. He'd spent centuries longing for freedom, to be his own person and to belong somewhere. He'd found that through Alice but he never could have imagined through all the hardships and trials they'd faced in Wonderland, and that fateful wish that sent them all to Storybrooke that he'd end up finding exactly what he'd always longed for and thought he'd never have.

Through all those years alone in his bottle all he'd wanted was to belong and feel loved, the process had begun with Alice but it had finally come full circle with everyone he'd met in Storybrooke.

Wishes were meant for mortals, those were the rules a genie lived by. And yet, he had seen his every silent wish granted right before his very eyes. And for that he'd be forever grateful.

_AN: I am slightly gobsmacked this is finished...and I'm the one who wrote it!_

_I have a little Christmas story I do hope to start posting soon, in this alternate universe I have created through this story. I've been trying to kick start my Christmas spirit as this is the year everything had to off and change and trust me, being the one left out is not fun. Well, unless they want cookies (last I checked they have kitchens...). There are also two more stories I have started planning out to come after this, and goodness knows there will be one shots. I kind of like what I've created here, hope other people do as well. I started writing it for a friend initially._

_I may also start posting a work in progress based on what happened Thursday night. I seem to be one of the few that saw that twist coming, it really wasn't shocking to me and I wasn't overly impressed with it, but as this was originally to be a hiatus filler I suppose it would have worked because that would have been resolved in one or two episodes (I know I read somewhere there is a huge sacrifice to be made for Alice and Cyrus...I saw a few personal ones but not one that affects them both drastically, as of yet, but who knows, smoke and mirrors is all it could be). The episode was wonderful for all the Alice and Cyrus, I was loving it, right until the end. It isn't that I don't want them to have a happy ending, they deserve it, but it seemed a little rushed and well, this is the Once universe, there are five episodes left and if it lasts I'll be gobsmacked. They always tease you then tear it away._

_Anyway, I hope this story was worth reading, and I should be back with other things, we do have a long winter hiatus coming up. At least their cliffhanger isn't concerning me much. Concerned he's mortal now...with his suicidal tendencies to get things done but I just get a feeling the role reversal won't last long. I imagine Cyrus being freed is the end game, but it seemed a little too soon for it to be lasting. Anyway, I do have something I started concerning that which I may start posting, but as I said, it is a work in progress so the update schedule on it would be varied._

_That is all just my opinion on what happened in the episode...no offense meant to anyone._


End file.
